This issue is edited by | Cat Brother Wu on Blockchain
On March 28th at 21:30, SBF was tried in the Manhattan Federal Court and was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison for a multi-billion dollar fraud. SBF stated that he will appeal the conviction. The judge also suggested that he be imprisoned in a facility near his parents' home in California, pointing out that his notoriety and autism make him more vulnerable to harm. Although the federal system does not allow parole, if he behaves well, he may be released a few years early. Earlier, the prosecutor suggested a 40-year sentence, which could result in a life sentence according to sentencing guidelines.
Live tweets from Inner City Press:
Link to Inner City Press tweet
Reported by Bloomberg:
Judge Kaplan
We will start with the dispute in the United States involving losses exceeding 550 million dollars. I reject the defense's arguments regarding the losses, both legally and factually. The claim that clients and creditors will be fully compensated is misleading. Investors and lenders are also victims. The crimes here include taking funds from FTX clients, which the defendant had no right to use, and using them for speculative investments at Alameda and various other matters.
The occasional increase in the value of certain cryptocurrencies is irrelevant to the severity of the crimes committed. A thief who takes stolen goods to Las Vegas and successfully gambles, even if they repay the stolen money, should not receive a reduced sentence. Speculation about who will be repaid is just that, speculation. The loss amount far exceeds 550 million dollars, the highest level. I believe investors lost 1.7 billion dollars, lenders lost 1.3 billion dollars, and clients lost 8 billion dollars.
In terms of obstructing justice, I believe Mr. SBF's text messages to the former general counsel actually constitute an attempt to interfere with a witness. Based on trial testimony, I have made three findings of perjury, including: falsely claiming he did not know until the fall of 2022 that Alameda was using FTX client funds; falsely claiming he first learned of the 8 billion dollar shortfall in October 2022; falsely claiming that Alameda repaying third-party loans would require Alameda to borrow more client funds from FTX.
I have limited my findings of obstruction of justice—there may be more. The overall offense level is 60, once it exceeds 43, it cannot go any higher. The guideline sentencing range is life imprisonment. But in this case, the highest sentence is 1320 months.
Victim Sunil
I want to respond to the argument that the loss is zero. They continue to claim this in the media. It is not true. I have suffered for two years. The bankruptcy trustee is assuming or misdescribing us as unsecured creditors. We have property rights. Sullivan & Cromwell (Note: FTX bankruptcy law firm) trampled on our property rights. They have liquidated billions of dollars of crypto assets. There is a token that S&C sold for 11 cents, and it is now trading at two dollars. FTX had 10 billion dollars of Solana tokens—they sold it at a 70% discount. They are selling it to their own clients—Galaxy—this is destroying client value. This is our property. Then there's Anthropic. Our assets were used to buy shares. This is our property. I objected, and thousands of clients supported me. At least three people have committed suicide because of FTX's fraudulent behavior. So, when this FTX bankruptcy… I guess… what I feel, and its relationship to Sam, it has hurt me, other conspirators, accomplices, and instigators need to be held accountable.
Defense Lawyer Mukasey
I do not want anything I say today to be seen as disrespectful to the jury—we will appeal—nor do I want to be disrespectful to the victims, we have listened, we understand the pain. My team did not experience the trial firsthand, but we have studied the records. The government points to James Nicholson, who stole from widows. Carl Greenwood was sentenced by Judge Ramos. Madoff stole from Holocaust survivors. (Note: By mentioning these individuals and their crimes, the defense is trying to show that although SBF's actions are controversial, they should be treated more leniently compared to other more serious and premeditated criminal activities.)
But that is not Sam. He does not want to cause pain to anyone in any way. Sam is not a ruthless financial serial killer. He is not predatory. His decisions are based on math in his mind, not malice in his heart. His mother says he is misunderstood. It is easy to categorize people as greedy fraudsters… Sam never ran away with the money in a hurry. He stayed until the end. He will tell you what people getting repaid means to him. He is a clumsy math nerd. He is passionate about vegetarianism. He has an extraordinary intellect. He is a wonderful enigma. His ability to parse words is better than a Talmudic scholar. He is a billionaire who doesn't care about material possessions. In high school, he was already thinking about ethical obligations to the global population. In college, he spent time helping animals. On Wall Street, he donated his income to charities. That was until he was 21. Sam's dedication to others predates FTX. He never thought of becoming the king of crypto. He just wanted to have the greatest positive impact in the world. But the end does not justify the means, which would harm the altruistic movement… Who is still supporting him now? Not Tom Brady or Katy Perry (Note: Both are American athletes and a pop singer, who have invested in and promoted FTX). It is scientists who support him. This is not a charade. SBF is committed to doing good… He has been mentoring people in the MCC (Metropolitan Correctional Center). He knows what it feels like to leave a bad impression on people, practicing how to make eye contact in the right way.
His mother says, he has a terrible sadness inside. His brother says, Sam giving me a hug feels uncomfortable—but I know if I needed it, he would give me a kidney… He has spent the past seven months in the worst prison in the country.
I understand there must be a sense that justice has been achieved. I am reminded of the case of Stefan Irving—he was a predatory person, and he was only sentenced to 21 years. Do not ruin the golden years of this kind young man's life. Let him meet a partner and have a child. Sentence him to hard work and give everything away. A few years ago, Judge Koeltl wrote an article about Judge Weinfeld, telling a story of a white-collar defendant who scattered the bread of charity on the waters, and then returned. Sam has always been kind—let him reap the rewards. We ask that you sentence him with a heart full of compassion.
Defendant SBF
I am very grateful for Mark's assessment of me. The most important thing today is not my emotional life or the assumed future children. There are some clients, most of whom I agree with Sunil, they have gone through what is clearly money they did not expect to use, they have been deprived of profits. They have been waiting for a year and a half. What is important is my FTX colleagues, I have destroyed everything they have built. They are disappointed, and I am sorry for that. I am sorry for everything that has happened, for what I should have done and said, and for what I should not have done. I care very much about everything. Remember those colleagues, who followed me across the land, across continents, working until 2 in the morning… I remember, many of them, Natalie is self-taught, managing a media department, she has taken on the workload of ten people alone. I gave my brother a crazy idea about how to save lives. It seemed feasible. One day, Gary sent me a message, it was a link to a cryptocurrency exchange— the entire industry is being rebuilt according to the model Gary created. Many of the things he built have become industry standards.
Alameda is facing the danger of collapse. I received an anonymous message telling me how to fix it. It was obviously from Nishad, who is known for his humility. Then there's Caroline, quite remarkable, almost entirely self-taught, seeking advice from me on employee reviews. I read her evaluation of someone and learned a lot. They put their hearts into it, and then I abandoned everything. It bothers me every day. I made a series of bad decisions, which were not selfish. These decisions, along with some other factors, ultimately led to the crisis.
Alameda did not go bankrupt, and neither did FTX—Alameda's profits disappeared, and its leverage exceeded the appropriate level. We had to liquidate to address the run on FTX's funds. Then, we shut it down. FTX could have survived, but Alameda could not. It was an unpleasant experience over the course of a few weeks. I made a lot of mistakes, but the story does not end there. Clients did not get repaid, and FTX did not make it through. Yes, clients received conflicting statements. This caused significant harm. They could have been repaid. The assets were sufficient, and it was not due to the rise in cryptocurrency prices, which actually did not cause harm; in fact, the assets were sufficient. As Sunil said, it is emotional pain. Why were they not repaid? Fairly speaking, there was a liquidity crisis, and that part is my responsibility. This is neither the time nor the place to tell the whole story.
In the Bahamas, Ms. Rolle's office was hacked a few days after the bankruptcy event. I was also in the Bahamas that day. Christina Rolle personally came to FTX headquarters to ensure that the assets would not be further lost. It was a Saturday, and the work continued until 3 in the morning. This behavior is truly inspiring. Some people did stand up for the clients. But unfortunately, most people, including myself, let them down. As the CEO and leader of FTX, the ultimate responsibility lies with me. When things went bad, the reasons no longer matter, as the CEO, all responsibility is mine. Ultimately, I am not the most important person… I believe my useful life may have ended. I have done all I can, but I cannot do more from prison.
As for the sentence I will receive, whether it's 5 years or 40 years, I have no control over it. I understand how the prosecutor, the court, and the media view me. You mentioned my attempt to communicate with the general counsel before. I was trying to offer help—but the prosecutor and the media do not see it that way. I want to respond to Sunil's previous remarks. I understand what he means, it seems like we are denying the existence of pain. It can be understood that people may interpret it that way. Our focus may not have been in the right place. Indeed, clients have been suffering.
In the end, it seems that clients will be repaid based on the current value of the assets. The same goes for lenders and investors. I wish I could have done more to facilitate this, and I believe I failed in this regard. I am not sure why it happened, but I do believe I was wrong. There was an opportunity to do what I originally wanted to do for the world, rather than what I ultimately did. If everyone could do their best for the world, I hope to see their success, not just my own failure.
Prosecutor Roos
SBF stole 8 billion dollars. This is theft from clients around the world. It is a loss that has had a significant impact and caused harm to people. I want to respond to some new victim letters. They have lost their life savings. A man in Portugal—his daughter was born the day before the bankruptcy. He is troubled by financial instability and the future of his daughter. Then there is the 23-year-old young man from Morocco. He is the eldest son in the family. He deposited money in FTX, not to lend to the defendant, but for the safety of his family. There is also an elderly couple in their 60s who invested their life savings. They feel frustrated and have to return to work.
Mr. Mukasey said the defendant did not face his victims directly. I disagree. Nowadays, people face others' eyes through Twitter. Now, the defendant has also taken 1.7 billion dollars from investors—this alone requires a long sentence. Just for this, some people would be sentenced to 40 years or longer. Then there are the lenders, two of whom went bankrupt. This also independently demonstrates the need for a severe sentence. And one of the largest bribes in history. He committed perjury. This is also widespread.
You have a cost-benefit analysis of the defendant, which would allow him to do it again. If SBF believes the mathematical reasons are sufficient, he will do it again. Today he talked about mismanagement, a "painful few weeks"—not taking responsibility. He did not swear not to do it again. He said there is an opportunity to restart FTX or its equivalent. I believe this tells the court what might happen. A sentence of at least 40 years is needed here to ensure he will not do it again. Mr. Mukasey said the defendant is moral… the defendant is not a monster, but he has committed serious crimes, harming many people—and he would consider doing it again. So, a sentence of 40 to 50 years is recommended.
Judge Kaplan
I have considered the guidelines and the realities. Many of the claims about the defendant's background are undisputed. He was born privileged, with loving and devoted parents, and he had all the advantages they could give him, he went to MIT. He is very intelligent, and he has autism… he is a high-achieving autistic. He can achieve great things, but he often appears socially awkward, with an unusual way of interacting with people, sometimes even off-putting. He went to Jane Street, made a lot of money, and donated a lot. There was testimony in the trial, I don't remember who said it, but I learned that people at Jane Street were encouraged to participate in quantitative games. He was exceptionally ambitious, aware of his own talents. Ms. Ellison confirmed that he was very ambitious. He talked about building two large companies, was very interested in politics, and wanted to influence politics with his money. He said he had a 5% chance of becoming president one day. Indeed, this is a massive financial crime. He wanted to be a politically influential figure in his country. This is not just the left end of the political spectrum.
He set up a tool to donate to the right-wing through proxies, and these donations would not come back to him. These actions, at some point, might have been considered part of his self-presentation as supporting appropriate regulation of the crypto industry. In my view, that was a performance. He eventually admitted it. On November 15th or 16th, he gave an interview to a journalist he was familiar with, and the journalist said, "You said a lot of good things about good regulation—was that just PR?" He said, "Yes, f*** the regulators."
When asked how the defendant described his view of risk, Caroline Ellison answered: He said he is neutral about risk, as long as the expected value (E.V.) is positive, he feels comfortable. A person willing to flip a coin to decide whether the earth's life continues to exist. SBF knew that Alameda was using client funds for speculative investments, political donations, and Bahamian real estate. These funds were not his to use. One of his more concise expressions, I believe, was "I messed up." SBF has the right to not plead guilty and face trial. Everyone has that right, and I won't blame him for it. But I go back to Ellison's testimony. He knew it was wrong. He will not admit to anything. That is his right. Specific deterrence? His name is mud all over the world. But he persisted, he is a great marketer. Mr. Roos correctly pointed out that the revised version of SBF's profile is very clear.
Even after being arrested, he still used the same skills to sell his story to a large number of media people. He has the right, we have discussed this… in general deterrence, the criminal justice system can only survive if it is seen as fair. People need to feel that it is fair. Otherwise, we are back to trial by combat, my friends, or something similar. Therefore, the punishment must match the severity of the crime. This… is… a… serious… crime. Please bear with me as I speak.
The court sentences SBF to 240 months, followed by a consecutive 60 months, for a total of 300 months (25 years).
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
