Sam Bankman Fried

Found guilty on all seven charges he faced, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, faces up to 110 years in prison. However, his lawyers are trying to reduce the sentence to a maximum of 6 and a half years.

Considered the worst client he ever had by his former lawyer, David Mills, SBF went into “kamikaze” mode at his own trial by digging his own grave, while other FTX executives just “played the game” to get out of the charges .

Now, Bankman-Fried returns to American courts this Thursday (28) for the judge to determine how long the former billionaire will spend in prison.

Unlike the defense lawyers, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is seeking a much harsher sentence. In a document published on March 15, the DoJ says that SBF should spend between 40 and 50 years in prison to serve as an example to others.

“A sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison is necessary.”

“A criminal sentence must be designed, among other things, to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, provide fair punishment for the offense, and deter future criminal conduct,” the DoJ wrote.

Document published by the US on the sentence of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX. Source: Reproduction.

Sam Bankman-Fried remains in prison, but is adapting

While awaiting his trial, Sam Bankman-Fried has already adapted to the jail's monetary system. Vegan, the former billionaire would be exchanging his fish fillets, which serve as the local currency, for other goods and services.

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A former prison colleague of Bankman-Fried revealed that the executive became a “real gangster” by not reporting the internal crimes of his companions. However, she also noticed that he is not taking showers and has already lost a lot of weight.

Regardless of the sentence, be it 6 and a half years as the defense proposes, 40 years as the DoJ recommends or 110 years in the case of the maximum sentence, it appears that the former billionaire is already paying for his crimes.

Outside, FTX clients continue to wait for their assets to be returned. Although the new management has moved forward, the amounts to be paid appear to be fixed on the date of the broker's bankruptcy.

In other words, none of them took advantage of Bitcoin's huge 350% rise in the period, much less Solana's 1,600% rise. Worse than that, was the feeling of distrust left in the market towards other companies.

US continues to sue cryptocurrency brokers

In parallel, the American government is also suing several other cryptocurrency brokers, including giants like Binance and Coinbase. This week it was KuCoin's turn to be accused of a multi-billion dollar criminal conspiracy.

Anyway, these cases are very different from FTX. After all, Sam Bankman-Fried's brokerage illegally used its clients' money to invest in other projects and support a luxury lifestyle for its executives.

In the case of other companies, the processes are linked to the lack of KYC for a certain period of their history, but also to the trading of cryptocurrencies that the SEC considers securities. Regardless of the differences, the cases show that the US is focused on the cryptocurrency market.