SBF’s Legal Team Responds to Proposed 50-Year Sentence, Says It “Is Not Justice”
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, have criticized the government’s proposal for a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, saying it is “not justice.”
In response to the government’s sentencing recommendation filed on March 15, SBF’s attorneys, Marc Mukasey and Torrey Young, penned a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, branding the proposed sentence as a throwback to a “medieval” approach to punishment.
They added that the proposed sentence presents a distorted narrative that portrays their client as a malevolent supervillain.
“With marked hostility, the memorandum distorts reality to support its precious ‘loss’ narrative and casts Sam as a depraved super-villain.”
The government’s additional documents filed alongside a sentencing memorandum called for a 40-to-50-year prison term for Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud and money laundering charges in November 2023.
Dismissing the proposed sentence as an unjust punishment, the defense team argued for a reduced prison term of five to six years, emphasizing that the bankruptcy proceedings would ensure that all customers and lenders are fully compensated, leaving no actual losses.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers also disputed the prosecution’s portrayal of their client as driven by greed and solely focused on personal wealth accumulation.
They highlighted his philanthropic efforts and purportedly modest lifestyle, countering the government’s narrative.
In addition, they challenged the government’s assertion that Bankman-Fried posed a high risk of re-offending, citing research indicating low recidivism rates among white-collar, educated offenders without prior records.
The defense team further criticized the prosecution for making
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