Judge sentences Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison

Cryptocurrency guru Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced in New York City this Thursday to 25 years in prison for the massive scam linked to his FTX project.

Judge Lewis Kaplan announced the sentence in Manhattan, reducing the 50 years requested by the prosecution in half. However, in his sentencing, Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried shows no remorse.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was found guilty in November of two counts of wire fraud and five counts of conspiracy following the collapse of his cryptocurrency network, FTX, in November 2022. The exchange had merged assets with sister hedge fund Alameda Research due to liquidity problems, leading to waves of clients withdrawing funds. Bankman-Fried was indicted the following month.

FTX clients lost a total of $8 billion. FTX equity investors lost $1.7 billion and lenders to the Alameda Research hedge fund founded by Bankman-Fried lost $1.3 billion.

"He knew it was wrong," Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence. "He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right," the judge said in statements reported by Fox.