US District Judge Lewis Kaplan set Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing for March 28, 2024 in which he could face decades in prison
Saturday, November 04, 2023
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on Thursday of masterminding a multi-billion-dollar fraud on cryptocurrency exchange customers.
Here's what's next for Bankman-Fried:
When will Bankman-Fried be sentenced?
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan set Bankman-Fried's sentencing for March 28, 2024. Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison.
Kaplan will sentence Bankman-Fried based on several factors, including his personal history and the nature of the crime.
When Kaplan refused to release Bankman-Fried from prison to prepare for trial, he could potentially face a "very long sentence."
Kaplan wrote in a 2007 article that "white-collar crimes, based on a studied calculation of the likely costs and benefits of engaging in criminal behavior, are perhaps particularly reprehensible."
Is this the end of the case?
The plaintiffs' case against Bankman-Fried is not over.
Bankman-Fried is scheduled to go on trial in March on charges of paying $40 million in bribes to Chinese officials and conspiring to make more than 300 illegal political donations in the US.
Will Bankman-Fried appeal?
Bankman-Fried will likely ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review his conviction, as well as the rulings against him before and during the trial.
Kaplan partially blocked Bankman-Fried from testifying to the jury that the lawyers were involved in aspects of FTX's business.
Bankman-Fried's attorneys sought acquittal during the trial, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove their case. Kaplan rejected the proposal. His attorney, Mark Cohen, said after Bankman-Fried's conviction that his client would continue to "vigorously fight the charges."
Will Bankman-Fried remain in prison for now?
Bankman-Fried has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since Aug. 11, when Kaplan discovered he allegedly tampered with witnesses at least twice.
He is likely to remain there pending sentencing.
What about FTX customers?
The exchange's former customers are expected to eventually receive at least 90% of the available funds raised in the bankruptcy through a preliminary settlement. FTX is expected to include the transaction in its next proposed bankruptcy plan in December.
FTX has recovered over $7 billion in assets so far and is attempting to recover more through lawsuits against former business partners.
Kaplan may also order Bankman-Fried to pay restitution to the victims at sentencing.
