Talks about Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, have picked up steam ahead of his sentencing on March 28. The primary discussion has been the number of years the defendant could get, with his lawyers recently arguing that the prosecution’s proposed sentence of 50 years is unfair. 

Sam Bankman-Fried Getting 50 Years Is “Not Justice”

In a letter addressed to Judge Lewis Kaplan, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers criticized the government’s memorandum, in which they proposed that SBF be sentenced to 40 to 50 years. They further mentioned that the prosecution is adopting a “medieval view of punishment to reach what amounts to a death-in-prison sentencing recommendation.”

Meanwhile, his lawyers used the letter to rebut the prosecution’s arguments that Bankman-Fried deserved 50 years in prison. Firstly, they stated that FTX customers didn’t suffer any loss since it had already been decided that they would receive the money the bankrupt crypto exchange owed them. 

The lawyers argue that this wouldn’t have been possible if Sam Bankman-Fried had indeed stolen FTX’s assets, as the prosecution claimed. They also noted that the FTX founder had always acted in good faith, considering his efforts to ensure that FTX could process withdrawals before eventually filing for bankruptcy.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers also countered the prosecution’s argument of Recidivism, claiming there was no basis for such belief. They added that offenders with no criminal history, like the defendant, are the least likely to re-offend. Moreover, offenders with a college education are less likely to recidivate. 

In their sentencing submission, the prosecution had likened Sam Bankman-Fried to other defendants like Bernie Madoff. However, his lawyers argued that this comparison was “way off base” since most cases they alluded to involved frauds that lasted up to a decade, unlike their client’s fraudulent practice, which didn’t last up to that. 

Bankman-Fried Could Die In Prison

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers raised the possibility of their client dying in prison due to his “condition and vulnerabilities.” Besides SBF’s condition, they mentioned that they are yet to identify a federal defendant convicted of a non-violent offense who served up to 40 to 50 years in prison and was eventually released. 

They remarked this was perhaps due to inmates suffering a “two-year decline in life expectancy for each year of imprisonment.” Therefore, they believe this isn’t the way to go about SBF’s sentencing if the government wants to achieve deterrence and not completely ostracize the defendant. 

The FTX founder’s lawyers argue that “crushing Sam in this way is unnecessary,” especially considering that he has “lost everything and almost everyone.” Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had, in their sentencing submission, proposed that their client be sentenced to between five and six years. 

They urged the government to consider this sentencing limit if they genuinely believed the defendant deserved to “return to liberty.”