- The battle over SBF’s sentence has escalated between his lawyers and prosecutors.
- The former FTX CEO faces a potential decades-long sentence.
- SBF’s lawyer asserted that the prosecutors’ recommendation of justice is unjust and disproportionate.
Over the past month, disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has come under renewed spotlight as the final verdict for his November conviction nears. This has resulted in an intense legal battle between his legal team and United States prosecutors, with each side advocating for the sentence they believe the convicted CEO deserves.
On March 13, 2024, prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum seeking a potential life behind bars sentencing for SBF. However, the legal request has drawn opposition from SBF and his legal team, who are now contesting the proposal.
SBF’s Sentence Looms, Lawyers Bolster Cry
In a letter to Judge Kaplan on Tuesday, March 19, SBF’s lawyers, Mukasey and Young, resisted the prosecutor’s request to sentence the former FTX CEO to a minimum of 40 to 50 years in jail.
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Asserting the proposed sentence’s hostile and “disturbing” nature, SBF’s lawyers asserted that the narrative casts Sam as a “depraved supervillain” and does not align with the principles of justice.
“It adopts a medieval view of punishment to reach what amounts to a death-in-prison sentencing recommendation. That is not justice,” the filing read, adding that, “at age 32, the government wants to break Sam Bankman-Fried.”
Going further, the defense argued that the government is bent on portraying Bankman-Fried as a monster, while ignoring his “good faith” and “selflessness.”
Contesting the human toll of FTX’s collapse was another key aspect of the defense’s argument. The legal team asserted that despite the claims that SBF’s actions resulted in a severe financial drain, there were no actual losses.
FTX Creditors Funds Intact?
Mukasey and Young argued against the prosecutors’ arguments that the $8 billion lost to FTX collapse has not seen any significant recovery efforts, emphasizing that full payment of creditor claims from the bankruptcy estate is inevitable.
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“The truth is, there were never losses. The money has always been available. Assets remain. Each victim quoted in the government’s opposition will receive 100 cents on the dollar -- plus interest. This would be impossible if the estate’s assets had disappeared into Sam’s personal pockets,” the lawyers stated.
The lawyers further highlighted the year-long fight between the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and FTX over a staggering $28 billion tax debt, asserting that the government itself bears partial responsibility for the delay.
The defense doubled down on the request for SBF’s sentence to be no longer than six years, asserting the judgment should not exceed what is necessary to satisfy the goals of punishment.
On the Flipside
- While the defense argument paints a promising picture for FTX’s creditors, it contradicts the seemingly unending payout process, which has lingered since the exchange’s bankruptcy filing in 2022.
- The former CEO’s family has also raised pleas for leniency ahead of his sentencing.
- SBF has been accused of secretly colluding with Tether and the Bahamas to artificially inflate the growth of USDT.
Why This Matters
The tooth-and-nail fight against the 50-year sentence recommendation by SBF’s lawyers is yet another chapter in the string of attempts to secure a lenient judgment. While these efforts carry the potential to influence the trajectory of the looming decision, the severity of the charges for which SBF was convicted makes it improbable for him to be granted leniency.
Find out more about some of SBF’s techniques to evade incarceration:
Lawyers Reveal SBF’s Get-out-of-Jail Plans as Sentencing Nears
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