{"id":165020,"date":"2023-09-29T11:29:37","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T05:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/?p=165020"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:29:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T05:59:37","slug":"how-long-could-sam-bankman-fried-go-to-jail-for-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/how-long-could-sam-bankman-fried-go-to-jail-for-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"How long could Sam Bankman-Fried go to jail for? – Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, once described as the \u201cgolden boy\u201d of crypto, is set to stare down a jury next week for his role in the collapse of his $32 billion crypto exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a jury selection process on Oct. 3, the trial begins in earnest on Oct. 4, with Bankman-Fried staring down seven charges. If found guilty on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. <\/p>\n

However, the judge won’t likely go easy on him, crypto lawyers tell Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n

\n

Here’s a first look at the calendar for SBF’s criminal trial this October.<\/p>\n

The former CEO of FTX has plead not guilty to all charges brought against him.https:\/\/t.co\/xRA27iUwGJ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RqMJErDPMW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In mid-November last year, Bankman-Fried suffered one of the most rapid and public reputational declines of all time, when his crypto exchange and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research collapsed and filed for bankruptcy<\/a>, leaving a $10 billion hole in its wake. <\/p>\n

Life behind bars?<\/h3>\n

Now less than a week out from the trial, Michael Kanovitz, partner at Loevy & Loevy law firm, told Cointelegraph that things don\u2019t look particularly good for Bankman-Fried. <\/p>\n

He predicts that if the government finds him guilty of committing fraud, he\u2019s likely looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s found guilty, I think he will get the maximum sentence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kanovitz explained that courts look mainly at the severity of the crime and how the defendant behaved during the judicial process when handing down a sentence. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf the government can prove he knowingly stole billions of dollars and destroyed documents to cover it up, that pushes the sentence toward the high end of the range,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

WSJ called SBF a savior… \u200d\u2642\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/ecNanSREIP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kanovitz also noted that courts reserve some discretion to be lenient during sentencing if the defendant \u201cbehaves themself\u201d before the court. However, Kanovtiz believes Bankman-Fried hasn’t been doing that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSBF hasn\u2019t done himself any favors here, as the court already found cause to believe that he was tampering with witnesses.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very bad. Also, there is not a lot of \u2018mitigation\u2019 going the other way. He did donate to charity, but they don\u2019t give you credit for being charitable with other people\u2019s money,\u201d Kanovtiz said. <\/p>\n

Slightly less resolute than Kanovitz, Jeremy Hogan, Partner at Hogan & Hogan told Cointelegraph that he predicts that while Bankman-Fried may not get the maximum sentence, he\u2019s almost certainly spending a considerable period in jail. <\/p>\n

\u201cSBF is going to prison for quite some time. But, I don\u2019t know enough about it to get into details. Just a long time \u2014 more than 10 years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Breaking down the charges<\/h3>\n

Bankman-Fried will face a total of seven fraud charges. The burden of proof is carried by the government, which must prove beyond reasonable doubt that Bankman-Fried is guilty of the charges pressed against him, including:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Committing wire fraud on FTX customers<\/li>\n
  2. Conspiring to commit wire fraud on FTX customers<\/li>\n
  3. Committing wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders<\/li>\n
  4. Conspiring to commit wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders<\/li>\n
  5. Conspiring to commit securities fraud against FTX investors<\/li>\n
  6. Conspiring to commit [commodities?] fraud against FTX customers<\/li>\n
  7. Conspiring to commit money laundering to hide the proceeds of wire fraud on FTX customers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Of these charges, only two \u2014 committing wire fraud on FTX customers and Alameda Research lenders \u2014 are \u201csubstantive,\u201d meaning that the prosecution must prove that Bankman-Fried committed them. <\/p>\n

    The remaining charges are \u201cconspiracy\u201d allegations, which mean that the prosecution will have to prove that Bankman-Fried planned to commit these crimes with at least one other person. <\/p>\n

    \n

    UPDATE: SBF loses appeal to get out of prison temporarily to prepare for his trial. Jury selection begins OCT 3rd. Mark your calendars and conserve your chi. October will be a big month. pic.twitter.com\/fhl6H31hZz<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u2014 Autism Capital (@AutismCapital) September 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Kanovitz explained that government prosecutors are likely aware that they won\u2019t be able to prove that Bankman-Fried was personally involved in every aspect of the FTX and Alameda violations, which is where the conspiracy charges come in. <\/p>\n

    However, if the prosecution can prove the conspiracy allegations, Bankman-Fried will be on the hook for the full brunt of the charges, he said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhatever actions others took to achieve those illegal goals, the law treats it as if Bankman-Fried had done those things himself,\u201d Kanovitz said.<\/p>\n

    SBF\u2019s likely defense<\/h3>\n

    Commercial litigator Joe Carlasare argues that Bankman-Fried\u2019s lawyers are already running a \u201cdistraction and confusion playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe defense will likely challenge the depiction of SBF as the central figure and instead portray him as a scapegoat, influenced by those around him who have already pleaded guilty.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \u201cI suspect his lawyers will highlight the quirky and eccentric aspects of SBF\u2019s personality to depict him as easily influenced, immature, and impressionable,\u201d Carlasare added.<\/p>\n

    \n

    1) What<\/p>\n

    \u2014 SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Similarly, Kanovtiz said that the defense will seek to wrap SBF in a cloak of incompetence and uncertainty, by claiming that the other major custodians were doing similar things to FTX and that rules governing crypto were so unclear that he couldn\u2019t knowingly violate them. <\/p>\n

    \u201cHe\u2019ll bring forward evidence that other major crypto custodians were doing essentially the same thing and so he thought it was ok, which is the legal equivalent of telling the teacher \u2018but CZ was doing it too!\u2019” <\/p>\n

    Related:\u00a0Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s political donations can be surfaced in trial, rules judge<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Ultimately, however, Kanovitz predicts that these defenses will fall short, regardless of whether there are shadows of truth contained within them. <\/p>\n

    \u201cHow are you going to convince a jury of regular people that a man who built a multibillion-dollar fortune for himself was merely a bumbler when it came to taking care of other people\u2019s money?\u201d <\/p>\n

    \u201cIn that sense, he\u2019ll be a victim of his own success.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Deposit risk:\u00a0What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, once described as the \u201cgolden boy\u201d of crypto, is set to stare down a jury next week for his role in the collapse of his $32 billion crypto exchange.\u00a0 After a jury selection process on Oct. 3, the trial begins in earnest on Oct. 4, with Bankman-Fried staring down seven charges. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[235,203,210,234,231,232,237,238,236,233],"class_list":["post-165020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto-currency","tag-elon-musk","tag-ethereum","tag-hyperledger","tag-ibm","tag-mining","tag-nodes","tag-spacex","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165023,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165020\/revisions\/165023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}