Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud

Sam Bankman-Fried outside Manhattan court

The disgraced mogul will "likely be close to 50 when he re-enters society," The Wall Street Journal predicts

(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 29 March 2024

What happened

A federal judge in New York on Thursday sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers, money laundering and other crimes tied to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. He was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion in assets.

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Kaplan said he will advise that Bankman-Fried be sent to a low- or medium-security prison near San Francisco. The fallen "crypto king" will probably serve 17 to 20 years, The Wall Street Journal said, citing prison consultants. Bankman-Fried is young enough that "he will see the light of day," said Ira Lee Sorkin, a defense lawyer whose client Bernie Madoff died in prison, to The New York Times. "But he is going to spend a lot of time in a cell."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.