Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty last year of fraud and sentenced to prison time. The official length of the sentence will be delivered in March. Multiple numbers have been thrown out regarding how long SBF’s prison sentence will be. However, one surprising factor that will affect Bankman-Fried’s prison time is the current state of the crypto market.
Indeed, since Bankman-Fried’s indictment, the entire cryptocurrency market has been on a steady incline. Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud in November 2023, about a year after FTX collapsed. However, those customers who locked their funds into FTX and crypto assets may be receiving some of their funds back.
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The jump in crypto markets matters because restitution can be taken into account for sentencing. According to Jordan Estes, a partner at the New York City office of law firm Kramer Levin, guidelines suggest a range of 24-30 months for low losses. A high-loss amount, in contrast, could lead to upwards of 20 years behind bars, or even life. If the markets are reflecting a big enough return for the FTX customers, who were owed over $8 billion combined, Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentence could dramatically decrease.
“I would expect the loss amount to be hotly contested at sentencing,” Estes tells Coindesk. “In particular, the defense may argue for a substantially lower loss amount, or even a loss amount of $0, if all customers and creditors will be made whole.”
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait until March to learn the decision on Sam Bankman-Fried’s prison sentence. The sentencing of the discgraces FTX founder will undoubtedly send ripples through the crypto field.