The stage is ready for a federal decide to find out how lengthy Sam Bankman-Fried might spend in jail. The U.S. Division of Justice and protection attorneys have now each filed their arguments, in addition to statements from FTX collectors (from the prosecution) and Bankman-Fried’s household and associates (from the protection).
‘Emotional toll’
The narrative
Attorneys with each the protection and the prosecution have now filed their sentencing memos with the decide overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried’s case, arguing for his or her respective sentences. Alongside the briefs, the attorneys have additionally filed supporting letters from the folks round FTX and Bankman-Fried, presenting emotional arguments on high of their authorized reasoning.
Why it issues
Bankman-Fried will return to courtroom subsequent week for sentencing. The U.S. Division of Justice needs him in jail for a minimum of 4 many years; the protection thinks a handful of years is a adequate punishment (and that the DOJ’s advice is bonkers). With out attempting to guess how a federal decide would possibly method this, the questions he would possibly have a look at embody Bankman-Fried’s conduct, how FTX’s clients fared and – after all – the proof offered through the trial itself.
Breaking it down
District Choose Lewis Kaplan now has letters from Bankman-Fried’s household, former FTX staff, former FTX clients and varied different events when he guidelines on sentencing subsequent week.
The protection and DOJ printed varied feedback to attempt to persuade the decide to assist both a comparatively gentle 6.5-year or prolonged 50-year sentence. Each are miles away from the 100-year sentence that the Presentence Investigation Report apparently instructed.
I wrote in regards to the protection’s submissions a couple of weeks in the past; the quick model is Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argue he’s remorseful and that his life is eternally modified by FTX’s demise. He will not be capable to get a job once more with out the alternate hovering over him, the protection mentioned.
Powerful, the DOJ mentioned final Friday. In its response (which the protection later known as a “disturbing” advice), the DOJ lambasted the 32 12 months previous, saying he intentionally broke the legislation and his efforts to attempt to repair the scenario might even have made issues worse.
On Monday, the DOJ filed sufferer affect statements from former FTX clients describing the impact the alternate’s 2022 collapse had on their funds, well being, relationships and lives. These letters, principally addressed to a DOJ officer, the decide or attorneys with a legislation agency engaged on a category motion swimsuit in opposition to the corporate, detailed how folks felt in regards to the alternate’s chapter and their anticipated chapter recoveries.
“The emotional toll of this ordeal has been overwhelming,” one author, whose identify was redacted, mentioned.
Many of those statements took intention at one argument offered by the protection: that FTX clients can be made entire after the alternate wrapped up its chapter course of.
That is technically true, however solely to the extent that these clients will obtain the greenback worth of their crypto holdings as of November 2022, and never the worth they could in any other case have if that they had been capable of maintain onto their funds via the crypto market’s large current worth rise, most of the collectors mentioned.
Even there, a few of the letters mentioned, receiving the funds again will not make up for the 12 months and a half the shoppers did not have entry to their cash.
Distinction these arguments with the protection’s submissions, which had been principally character references from Bankman-Fried’s household, former colleagues, associates and others tied to him both via donations or the Efficient Altruism motion.
A few of these letters addressed Bankman-Fried’s conduct throughout and instantly after the collapse of FTX, whereas others centered solely on the Bankman-Fried that the writers knew.
The letters – each the protection and the prosecution submissions – are prone to be taken into consideration by the decide.
Different components will doubtless embody Bankman-Fried’s personal testimony throughout his trial, in addition to the testimony of everybody else. The DOJ alleged perjury in its submission, on high of all the pieces else.
There’s additionally the truth that the case appeared so clear-cut to the jury that the 12 members solely took a couple of hours to conform to convict on all seven fees.
Different questions which will play a task: will Bankman-Fried commit fraud once more if he re-enters society? How will he comport himself exterior of jail?
“At age 32, the federal government needs to interrupt Sam Bankman-Fried. They ignore fully his situation and vulnerabilities. As an alternative, they urge, menacingly, that the sentence imposed should ‘disable’ him even from ‘being ready’ the place he theoretically ‘might’ perpetrate a fraud,” a Tuesday submitting from the protection mentioned. “That could be a horrifying interpretation of particular deterrence.”
Bankman-Fried is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.