Sam Bankman-Fried: Disgraced ‘crypto king’ jailed for 25 years after stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers
Disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers.
He was the chief executive of FTX, which suddenly went bankrupt in November 2022 – leaving millions of users frozen out of their accounts and unable to make withdrawals.
The 32-year-old American could have faced up to 100 years behind bars – but last month, his lawyers argued such a sentence would have been “barbaric” and a five-year term would be more appropriate.
Initial reports said he had been sentenced to 20 years – but this has since been corrected to 25.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to jail Bankman-Fried for 40 to 50 years, arguing the public needed protecting from the fraudster and a harsh punishment would deter other criminals.
“The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years,” prosecutors said in a court filing.
“He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence.”
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Prosecutors also said Bankman-Fried had cost customers, investors and lenders over $10bn (£7.9bn) by misappropriating funds to fuel his quest for influence and dominance in the new industry, and had illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private planes.
At the sentencing hearing in Manhattan, Judge Lewis Kaplan said the businessman lied on the witness stand when he insisted he had no knowledge of customer funds being used this way.
The judge also described Bankman-Fried’s claim that victims will be paid back in full as “misleading and logically flawed”.
“A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole,” Judge Kaplan warned.
The judge said that the sentence reflected “a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future”.
“And it’s not a trivial risk at all.”
He added that it was “for the purpose of disabling him to the extent that can appropriately be done for a significant period of time”.
Before he was sentenced, Mr Bankman-Fried apologised in a rambling statement.
Sam Bankman-Fried leaving court last July. Pic: Reuters
“A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said.
“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”
Judge Kaplan said he would advise the Federal Bureau of Prisons to send him to a medium-security prison or less near the San Francisco area because he’s unlikely to be a physical threat to other inmates or prison staff, and his autism and social awkwardness would make him vulnerable to other inmates in a high-security location.
Read more:
The meteoric rise and even sharper fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
Why industry may never recover from downfall of ‘crypto king’
It took just five-and-a-half hours for a jury in New York to convict him of two counts of fraud and five of conspiracy last November.
Three people from Bankman-Fried’s inner circle – including his former girlfriend Caroline Ellison – pleaded guilty to related crimes and testified at his trial.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s colleague and on-off girlfriend Caroline Ellison testified against him. Pic: Reuters
Bankman-Fried’s conviction followed a dramatic fall from grace from his time as chief executive of FTX – the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world at one time – when he was worth billions of dollars on paper.
FTX allowed investors to buy dozens of virtual currencies, from Bitcoin to more obscure ones like Shiba Inu Coin.
Pic: Reuters
Flush with billions of dollars of investors’ cash, Bankman-Fried rode a crest of success that included a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady, basketball star Stephen Curry and comedian Larry David.
But after the collapse of cryptocurrency prices in 2022, Bankman-Fried tried to plug the holes in the balance sheet of FTX’s hedge fund affiliate, known as Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried’s victims – an estimated 80,000 of whom are based in the UK – remain out of pocket, with some losing their life savings.
Prosecutors described his crimes as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.
The families of some of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting have announced new legal action against three companies they say effectively helped to “train” the gunman to carry out the attack.
Legal action against Instagram parent company Meta Platforms, the maker of the video game series Call Of Duty and the company that made the gun used in the May 2022 shooting was announced on the two-year anniversary of the attack in Texas in the US.
Salvador Ramos, 18, killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on 24 May 2022.
The new legal cases accuse the companies of partnering to promote and create content designed to glorify combat, gun violence and killing.
Pic: Reuters
Josh Koskoff, a lawyer for the families, called the companies a “three-headed monster” that “knowingly exposed [the gunman] to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it”.
“There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting,” Mr Koskoff said.
According to the lawsuits, Ramos had played versions of Call Of Duty since he was 15, including one that allowed him to effectively practise with the version of the rifle he used at the school.
It claimed the company created a “hyperrealistic” game where “although the killing is virtual, the weapons are authentic – they are designed to perfectly imitate their real-life counterparts in look, feel, recoil and accuracy”.
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‘Failures’ in Uvalde school shooting
The legal action claims Instagram does little to enforce rules that ban marketing firearms and harmful content to children.
It also accuses gunmakers Daniel Defense of using the social media platform to help “extol the illegal, murderous use of its weapons”.
Some of the same families also filed a $500m (£392m) lawsuit against Texas state police officials and officers who responded to the shooting but waited more than an hour to confront Ramos inside the classroom as students and teachers lay dead, dying or wounded.
‘Baseless accusations’
Call Of Duty makers, Activision, called the shooting “horrendous and heartbreaking in every way”.
The company added its “deepest sympathies” for the “families and communities who remain impacted by this senseless act of violence”.
But it added: “Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts.”
Activision called the shooting ‘horrendous and heartbreaking in every way’. Pic: AP
The Entertainment Software Association – a video game industry trade group – also said it was “outraged by senseless acts of violence” but pushed back on blaming games for violence, arguing research has found no link.
“We discourage baseless accusations linking these tragedies to video gameplay, which detract from efforts to focus on the root issues in question and safeguard against future tragedies,” the group said.
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Survivors and community members at Uvalde town square on Friday morning. Pic: AP
Daniel Defense and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
This is not the first legal action to be brought over the shooting.
In December 2022, a group of different plaintiffs filed a separate lawsuit against local and state police, the city, and other school and law enforcement, which seeks at least $27bn (£21bn) and class-action status for survivors.
At least two other lawsuits have also been filed against Daniel Defense.
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To mark the two-year anniversary of the shooting, community members in Uvalde planned a vigil for those killed.
In a letter, President Joe Biden said: “As we mark this solemn day, may we pray for those we lost, their loved ones, and all those who were wounded.”
A judge has rejected a request by Alec Baldwin to dismiss his criminal charge relating to the fatal shooting on the set of Rust.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer upheld an indictment charging Baldwin with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, in 2021.
The New Mexico judge rejected defence arguments that prosecutors flouted the rules of grand jury proceedings to divert attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses.
Halyna Hutchins. Pic: Shutterstock
Prosecutors denied the accusations and said Baldwin made “shameless” attempts to escape culpability, highlighting contradictions in his statements to law enforcement, to workplace safety regulators, and in a television interview.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
His lawyers said after Friday’s judgement: “We look forward to our day in court.”
The 66-year-old’s trial has been scheduled to start in July.
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During a rehearsal on the set of the Western film, Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.
The actor has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer but not the trigger.
US
Morgan Spurlock: Super Size Me documentary maker, who ate only McDonald’s for a month, dies aged 53
Documentary maker Morgan Spurlock, who famously ate only at McDonald’s for a month in Super Size Me, has died.
Spurlock died from complications of cancer at the age of 53 in New York, his family confirmed in a statement.
Craig Spurlock, the filmmaker’s brother, said: “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity.
“The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
Morgan Spurlock. Pic: Pia Torelli/Sipa/Shutterstock
Born on 7 November 1970, Spurlock started off his career as a playwright before creating I Bet You Will – an internet series where members of the public would take part in stunts for cash.
The 2002 webcasts, which saw some dared to eat a full jar of mayonnaise for $235 or take a shot of cod liver oil, were eventually bought by MTV.
Spurlock rose to fame with his 2004 documentary Super Size Me, where he exclusively ate at McDonald’s for 30 days to investigate the rise of obesity in the US.
He ate an average of 5,000 calories a day, always took a “super-size” meal if offered and exercised less to match the average American’s physical activity at the time.
By the end of his experiment, he claimed he put on 25lbs (11.3kg) and started suffering from depression and liver dysfunction.
Spurlock’s documentary grossed $22million in the global box office and was nominated for an Oscar.
It also prompted McDonald’s to stop offering its “super-size” option in 2004.
However the film’s findings were called into question as Spurlock refused to share his meal logs. He also later admitted to alcohol abuse in 2017, which other documentary makers said explained his liver issues and poor mental health.
In 2019, Spurlock released his second expose against the fast-food industry with Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
The documentary sees him open his own restaurant and “become part of the problem” while tackling claims of healthy meals at big chain restaurants.
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