Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if he is found guilty on all eight charges submitted by the US Department of Justice on Tuesday, although it is improbable that he would be sentenced to this amount of time.
US Attorney for Manhattan Damian Williams said during a press conference that the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had been working “around the clock” to determine what transpired in “one of the greatest financial frauds in American history.” Tuesday, the SEC and the CFTC filed separate lawsuits against Bankman-Fried for his alleged role in FTX’s downfall. White-collar offenders seldom get the maximum term authorized by law if convicted.
Michael Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York office, said during a press conference, “Fraud is fraud.” It is irrelevant how intricate the investing scheme is or how much money is involved.
According to Williams, Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested on Monday in the Bahamas on suspicion of wasting billions of dollars in customer cash to prop up his Alameda Research crypto fund and influence US public policy. According to the Department of Justice, the creator of FTX faces two charges of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, and one count of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum 20-year sentence. In addition, he is charged with conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and campaign finance violations, all of which carry a maximum five-year prison term.
Congress establishes maximum statutory punishments, but the length of the sentence is ultimately set by a judge.
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