How long could Sam Bankman-Fried go to jail for? Crypto lawyers weigh in

FTX laminitis Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, erstwhile described arsenic the “golden boy” of crypto, is acceptable to look down a assemblage adjacent week for his relation successful the illness of his $32-billion crypto exchange.

After a assemblage enactment process connected Oct. 3, the proceedings begins successful earnest connected Oct. 4, with Bankman-Fried facing 7 charges. If recovered blameworthy connected each counts, helium faces a maximum condemnation of 115 years successful prison.

However, the justice won’t apt spell casual connected him, crypto lawyers told Cointelegraph.

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 28, 2023

In mid-November past year, Bankman-Fried suffered 1 of the astir accelerated and nationalist reputational declines of each clip erstwhile his crypto speech and its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, collapsed and filed for bankruptcy, leaving a $10-billion spread successful its wake.

Life down bars?

Now little than a week retired from the trial, Michael Kanovitz, a spouse astatine Loevy & Loevy instrumentality firm, told Cointelegraph that things don’t look peculiarly bully for Bankman-Fried.

He predicts that if the authorities finds him blameworthy of committing fraud, he’s apt looking astatine spending the remainder of his beingness down bars.

“If he’s recovered guilty, I deliberation helium volition get the maximum sentence.”

Kanovitz explained that courts look chiefly astatine the severity of the transgression and however the suspect behaved during the judicial process erstwhile handing down a sentence.

“If the authorities tin beryllium helium knowingly stole billions of dollars and destroyed documents to screen it up, that pushes the condemnation toward the precocious extremity of the range,” helium said.

WSJ called SBF a savior... ‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/ecNanSREIP

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 26, 2023

Kanovitz besides noted that courts reserve immoderate discretion to beryllium lenient during sentencing if the suspect “behaves themself” earlier the court. However, Kanovitz believes Bankman-Fried hasn’t been doing that.

“SBF hasn’t done himself immoderate favors here, arsenic the tribunal already recovered origin to judge that helium was tampering with witnesses.”

“That’s precise bad. Also, determination is not a batch of ‘mitigation’ going the different way. He did donate to charity, but they don’t springiness you recognition for being charitable with different people’s money,” Kanovitz said.

Slightly little resolute than Kanovitz, Jeremy Hogan, a spouse astatine Hogan & Hogan, told Cointelegraph that helium predicts that, portion Bankman-Fried whitethorn not get the maximum sentence, he’s astir surely going to walk a sizeable play successful jail.

“SBF is going to situation for rather immoderate time. But, I don’t cognize capable astir it to get into details. Just a agelong clip — much than 10 years.”

Breaking down the charges

Bankman-Fried volition look a full of 7 fraud charges. The load of impervious is carried by the government, which indispensable beryllium beyond tenable uncertainty that Bankman-Fried is blameworthy of the charges pressed against him, including:

1. Committing ligament fraud connected FTX customers
2. Conspiring to perpetrate ligament fraud connected FTX customers
3. Committing ligament fraud connected Alameda Research lenders
4. Conspiring to perpetrate ligament fraud connected Alameda Research lenders
5. Conspiring to perpetrate securities fraud against FTX investors
6. Conspiring to perpetrate [commodities?] fraud against FTX customers
7. Conspiring to perpetrate wealth laundering to fell the proceeds of ligament fraud connected FTX customers.

Of these charges, lone 2 — committing ligament fraud connected FTX customers and Alameda Research lenders — are “substantive,” meaning that the prosecution indispensable beryllium that Bankman-Fried committed them.

The remaining charges are “conspiracy” allegations, which mean that the prosecution volition person to beryllium that Bankman-Fried planned to perpetrate these crimes with astatine slightest 1 different person.

UPDATE: SBF loses entreaty to get retired of situation temporarily to hole for his trial. Jury enactment begins OCT 3rd. Mark your calendars and conserve your chi. October volition beryllium a large month. pic.twitter.com/fhl6H31hZz

— Autism Capital (@AutismCapital) September 28, 2023

Kanovitz explained that authorities prosecutors are apt alert that they won’t beryllium capable to beryllium that Bankman-Fried was personally progressive successful each facet of the FTX and Alameda violations, which is wherever the conspiracy charges travel in.

However, if the prosecution tin beryllium the conspiracy allegations, Bankman-Fried volition beryllium connected the hook for the afloat brunt of the charges, helium said.

“Whatever actions others took to execute those amerciable goals, the instrumentality treats it arsenic if Bankman-Fried had done those things himself,” Kanovitz said.

SBF’s apt defense

Commercial litigator Joe Carlasare argues that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers are already moving a “distraction and disorder playbook.”

“The defence volition apt situation the depiction of SBF arsenic the cardinal fig and alternatively represent him arsenic a scapegoat, influenced by those astir him who person already pleaded guilty.”

“I fishy his lawyers volition item the quirky and eccentric aspects of SBF’s property to picture him arsenic easy influenced, immature and impressionable,” Carlasare added.

1) What

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 14, 2022

Similarly, Kanovitz said that the defence volition question to wrapper SBF successful a cloak of incompetence and uncertainty by claiming that the different large custodians were doing akin things to FTX and that rules governing crypto were truthful unclear that helium couldn’t knowingly interruption them.

“He’ll bring guardant grounds that different large crypto custodians were doing fundamentally the aforesaid happening and truthful helium thought it was ok, which is the ineligible equivalent of telling the teacher, ‘But CZ [Changpeng Zhao] was doing it, too!’”

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s governmental donations tin beryllium surfaced successful trial, rules judge

Ultimately, however, Kanovitz predicts that these defenses volition autumn short, careless of whether determination are shadows of information contained wrong them, saying:

“How are you going to person a assemblage of regular radical that a antheral who built a multibillion-dollar luck for himself was simply a bumbler erstwhile it came to taking attraction of different people’s money?”

And finishing by adding:

“In that sense, he’ll beryllium a unfortunate of his ain success.”

Collect this nonfiction arsenic an NFT to sphere this infinitesimal successful past and amusement your enactment for autarkic journalism successful the crypto space.

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