Bankman-Fried’s Defense Pushes for Leniency Amid Conviction

Bankman-Fried is implicated in court papers revealing his efforts to repair his reputation following the collapse of FTX in 2022.

New court papers submitted by US authorities show how Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried intends to repair his reputation following the 2022 collapse of FTX.

In an accompanying Google document to the March 15 government sentencing brief, Bankman-Fried allegedly outlined 19 “random, probably bad ideas” meant to alter the online story of the crypto exchange’s abrupt collapse.

Some of the ideas included going on Tucker Carlsen and coming out as a Republican, exposing papers to the press, insulting lawyers, and spreading “a strong anti-Binance message” while also being regarded as “extremely pro-crypto, pro-freedom.”

The former CEO of FTX was found guilty of fraud and money laundering last November, and this paper is a component of the government’s case for sentencing him to 40–50 years in prison. The Google document shows a “significant likelihood” that Bankman-Fried would perpetrate another fraud if released from jail at a young age, according to the sentencing memorandum.

“That is not just speculation. In the days following FTX’s bankruptcy, and even after the defendant had been indicted, he mused about launching “Archangel LTD,” which would be an alternative to FTX’s bankruptcy and would result in the re-launching of an exchange.”

U.S. sentencing guidelines impose a maximum possible term of 110 years, substantially lower than the proposed sentence. The defense team for Bankman-Fried, on the other hand, is requesting a sentence of less than seven years in jail, as stated in a document submitted on February 27. The ruling from District Judge Lewis Kaplan is expected on March 28.

The government claims that among Bankman-Fried’s sentencing materials are efforts “to reframe his crimes as mere mistakes or misunderstandings” (a reference to the defense’s letters arguing for a lesser term).

“The point is that the defendant is motivated to launch his redemption narrative and has already been thinking about how to spin it. It is realistic that he will settle on a narrative, lean into it, and convince other people to part with their money based on lies and the promise of false hope.”

A jury found the ex-executive guilty on all seven charges against him by the United States government, nearly a year after FTX’s collapse. Bankman-Fried dropped all charges. The new FTX leadership has announced intentions to repay creditors in full using the value of FTX’s cryptocurrency holdings as of the bankruptcy filing date.