Sam Bankman-Fried legal professionals decry proposed 100 12 months sentence as ‘barbaric,’ seeks 78 months

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founding father of the now-defunct FTX change, is pushing for a lighter jail time period, aiming for 78 months or much less, in line with a Feb. 27 court docket submitting.

Bankman-Fried’s authorized group, led by Marc Mukasey, criticized the Pre-sentence Investigation Report (PSR) suggestion of a 100-year sentence as “barbaric.” The legal professionals highlighted SBF’s standing as a first-time offender and the potential for FTX shoppers to get better most of their funds.

His legal professionals additional contended that FTX’s monetary standing at chapter indicated no precise hurt to shoppers, lenders, or buyers. They clarified that the $8 billion deficit cited by the federal government merely mirrored a short lived scarcity in liquid belongings on account of a rare surge in buyer withdrawals.

“If FTX had halted withdrawals on November eighth with $8 billion in withdrawal requests pending after which resumed withdrawals on November fifteenth after promoting ample belongings to cowl the $8 billion, then there wouldn’t have been any buyer ‘losses,’” the legal professionals defined.

As well as, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys careworn their shopper’s instructional background, philanthropic endeavors, and dedication to rectifying losses stemming from FTX’s collapse.

As such, the legal professionals informed US District Choose Lewis Kaplan {that a} lowered jail sentence can be applicable for SBF. They wrote:

“A sentence of decades-long length would finish Sam’s means to steer a significant life and contribute to the neediest in society and can be better than essential to serve the needs of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2).”

SBF was convicted on a number of counts of fraud and cash laundering final November. He faces a possible most sentence of 110 years, and his sentencing has been scheduled for March 28.

Bankman-Fried final appeared in court docket on Feb. 21, the place he waived potential conflicts of curiosity for his authorized illustration, representing former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.

In the meantime, the FTX founder has reportedly been giving crypto suggestions on the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Middle, the place he’s incarcerated. In accordance with a New York Instances report, SBF suggested correctional officers to put money into Solana, a digital asset with which he has an extended historical past of affiliation.