U.S. Government Recommends 40-50 Year Sentence for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried

By: Eliza Bennet

The United States Department of Justice is proposing a lengthy sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) over his involvement in notably significant financial frauds. The department has outlined SBF's fraudulent actions in a detailed sentencing memorandum that discloses the systematic misappropriation of over $8 billion of customer funds. This bold and widespread malpractice has disrupted the stability of the financial and political systems, leaving a considerable number of victims across multiple continents.

Bankman-Fried is depicted as a person of tremendous greed and ambition, infiltrating the political arena with illicit contributions and attempting to bribe foreign government officials. Seduced by financial fraud in FTX and Alameda Research, a trading firm he started, SBF also indulged in banking misconduct, consisting of operating an illicit money transmitting business and deceiving banks to facilitate his scheme.

The U.S. government is also pursuing forfeiture of assets garnered through these criminal activities and has suggested remission to compensate the victims, in place of traditional restitution. The request for a 40 to 50-year sentence signifies the seriousness and breadth of SBF's actions and underlines the prosecution's commitment to ensure proportional punishment for his crimes. The sentencing is slated for March 28th.