Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Challenges DOJ’s 50-Year Sentence Proposal
In a letter submitted to District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday, defense team of Sam Bankman-Fried opposed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent sentencing memorandum. The DOJ recommended a prison term of 40 to 50 years for the FTX founder.
The defense argued that the government’s proposal was unjust and painted an inaccurate picture of Bankman-Fried’s character and actions.
Key highlights:
- Bankman-Fried’s lawyers claim the DOJ’s memorandum “distorts reality” and casts their client as a “depraved supervillain.”
- The defense team argues that the government’s sentencing recommendation amounts to a “death-in-prison” sentence.
- Lawyers assert that Bankman-Fried has no prior criminal history.
- The defense claims that FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings will restore any assets lost in the exchange’s collapse.
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The Tuesday filing accused the DOJ of adopting a “medieval view of punishment” and making “apocalyptic prophecies of recidivism” in its effort to secure a lengthy prison sentence for Bankman-Fried.
The defense team argued that the government’s characterization of their client was not only hostile but also flew in the face of the record.
Bankman-Fried lawyers highlighted his non-criminal past
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers maintained that the college-educated former crypto mogul, who has no criminal past, shows no sign of recidivism. They also claimed that the government downplays the fact that FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings would restore any assets lost in the collapse of the crypto exchange.
The defense team had previously asked the court for a “just sentence” of 63 to 78 months, significantly lower than the DOJ’s recommendation. They emphasized the rarity of such lengthy sentences for non-violent offenders, stating, “We have yet to identify a federal defendant convicted of a non-violent offense who served a 40-50 year sentence and was released — perhaps because inmates suffer a two-year decline in life expectancy for each year of imprisonment.”
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The filing also addressed the government’s claim that Bankman-Fried had been uncooperative in resolving FTX’s bankruptcy. The defense refuted this claim, asserting that their client attempted to assist the bankruptcy estate, only to face “rebuff” from the bankruptcy managers.
As evidence, they included additional documents written by Bankman-Fried, such as potential draft public statements about how FTX ended up in bankruptcy.
