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Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating FTX fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for his role in defrauding users of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
In a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan called the defense argument misleading, logically flawed and speculative.
He said Bankman-Fried had obstructed justice and tampered with witnesses in mounting his defense — something Kaplan said he weighed in his sentencing decision.
Bankman-Fried, wearing a beige jailhouse jumpsuit, struck an apologetic tone, saying he had made a series of “selfish” decisions while leading FTX and “threw it all away.”
“It haunts me every day,” he said in his statement.
Prosecutors had sought as much as 50 years, while Bankman-Fried’s legal team argued for no more than 6½ years. He was convicted on seven criminal counts in November and had been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since.
In a statement following Thursday’s sentencing, Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Bankman-Fried had orchestrated one of the largest frauds in financial history.
“Today’s sentence will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe.”
Bankman-Fried plans to appeal both his conviction and sentence. A spokesperson for his parents issued a statement on their behalf: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.”
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had pleaded for leniency, citing what they described as mental health struggles and his purported generosity in his personal life. They also argued that FTX users had not ultimately suffered substantial losses — something current FTX administrator John Ray said was false in a letter to Kaplan in advance of Thursday’s sentencing.
But prosecutors argued the brazenness of the crime, the extent of the victims’ losses and damages and Bankman-Fried’s evident lack of remorse meant a harsher sentence was warranted.
Late Tuesday, prosecutors filed documents from victims testifying about how Bankman-Fried’s actions had harmed them.
“My whole life has been destroyed,” wrote one, whose name was redacted, in a letter dated March 15. “I have 2 young children, one born right before the collapse. I still remember the weeks following where I would stare blankly into their eyes, completely empty inside knowing their futures have been stolen through no fault of our own. I did not gamble on crypto. I did not make any crypto gains. I had my [bitcoin] which I had collected over years deposited on FTX as a custodian. I did not agree to the risk that SBF took with my funds.”
The man added he was suffering from depression and that his wife had become suicidal.
“I know we can never make that kind of money back ever again,” he wrote.
Another person wrote about how the loss of funds had affected numerous life plans, including a wedding.
“Each passing day is a painful reminder of the opportunities stolen from me, compounding feelings of hopelessness and despair,” the person wrote. “The burden of financial ruin weighs heavily on my shoulders, leading me to grapple with constant thoughts of suicide and significantly impairing my ability to perform at work.”
In the recent annals of white-collar crime, Bankman-Fried’s sentence is many years longer than what most others found guilty have received. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes received about 11 years. Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers received 25 years. Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling received 24 years.
Bernie Madoff received 150 years and died in prison at age 82.
FTX was once valued at more than $30 billion, with Bankman-Fried’s net worth estimated at more than $20 billion. FTX collapsed in November 2022 after it was revealed that it had a major cash shortfall.
At his trial, prosecutors said Bankman-Fried robbed FTX customers of as much as $8 billion to fund a vast array of outside interests, including political initiatives, speculative investments and funding of FTX executives’ lifestyles.
Three other FTX executives testified against him.
Bankman-Fried “didn’t bargain for his three loyal deputies taking that stand and telling you the truth: that he was the one with the plan, the motive and the greed to raid FTX customer deposits — billions and billions of dollars — to give himself money, power, influence. He thought the rules did not apply to him. He thought that he could get away with it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told the jury.
Bankman-Fried’s defense argued that he was merely borrowing the funds to run his Alameda Research investment group, which he believed was allowed, and that he was unaware of how much debt he had racked up.
He said he “made a number of small mistakes and a number of larger mistakes.”
Yet many experts agreed Bankman-Fried came across as an unsympathetic figure. Paul Tuchmann, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner with Wiggin and Dana LLP, told CNBC that Bankman-Fried’s testimony had been “unpersuasive” and noted it took the jury only three hours to convict him on each count.
Trial attorney James Koutoulas said in an CNBC interview, “No one had a shred of support for SBF, nor should they have.”
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons will consider which federal penitentiary to send him to.
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating FTX fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for his role in defrauding users of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
In a Lower Manhattan federal courtroom, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan called the defense’s argument misleading, logically flawed, and speculative.
He said Bankman-Fried had committed obstruction of justice and witness tampering while mounting his defense — something Kaplan said he weighed in his sentencing decision.
Bankman-Fried, wearing a beige jailhouse jumpsuit, made a statement striking an apologetic tone, saying he had made a series of “selfish” decisions while leading FTX and “threw it all away.”
“It haunts me every day,” he said.
Prosecutors had sought as much as 50 years, while Bankman-Fried’s legal team argued for no more than 6½ years. He was convicted on seven criminal counts in November and had been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ever since.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had pleaded for leniency, citing what they described as mental health struggles and his purported generosity in his personal life. They also argued that FTX users had not ultimately suffered substantial losses — something current FTX administrator John Ray said was false in a letter to Kaplan in advance of Thursday’s sentencing.
But prosecutors argued the brazenness of the crime, the extent of the victims’ losses and damages and Bankman-Fried’s evident lack of remorse meant a harsher sentence was warranted.
Late Tuesday, prosecutors filed documents from victims testifying about how Bankman-Fried’s actions had harmed them.
“My whole life has been destroyed,” wrote one, whose name was redacted, in a letter dated March 15. “I have 2 young children, one born right before the collapse. I still remember the weeks following where I would stare blankly into their eyes, completely empty inside knowing their futures have been stolen through no fault of our own. I did not gamble on crypto. I did not make any crypto gains. I had my [bitcoin] which I had collected over years deposited on FTX as a custodian. I did not agree to the risk that SBF took with my funds.”
The man added he was suffering from depression and that his wife had become suicidal.
“I know we can never make that kind of money back ever again,” he wrote.
Another person wrote about how the loss of funds had affected numerous life plans, including a wedding.
“Each passing day is a painful reminder of the opportunities stolen from me, compounding feelings of hopelessness and despair,” the person wrote. “The burden of financial ruin weighs heavily on my shoulders, leading me to grapple with constant thoughts of suicide and significantly impairing my ability to perform at work.”
In the recent annals of white-collar crime, Bankman-Fried’s sentence is many years more than what most others found guilty had received. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes received about 11 years. Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers received 25 years. Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling received 24 years.
Bernie Madoff received 150 years and died in prison at age 82.
FTX was once valued at more than $30 billion, with Bankman-Fried’s net worth estimated at more than $20 billion. FTX collapsed in November 2022 after it was revealed that it had a major cash shortfall.
At his trial, prosecutors said Bankman-Fried robbed FTX customers of as much as $8 billion to fund a vast array of outside interests, including political initiatives, speculative investments and funding of FTX executives’ lifestyles.
Three other FTX executives testified against him.
Bankman-Fried “didn’t bargain for his three loyal deputies taking that stand and telling you the truth: that he was the one with the plan, the motive and the greed to raid FTX customer deposits — billions and billions of dollars — to give himself money, power, influence. He thought the rules did not apply to him. He thought that he could get away with it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told the jury.
Bankman-Fried’s defense argued he was merely borrowing the funds to run his Alameda Research investment group, which he believed was allowed, and that he was merely unaware of how much debt he had racked up.
He said he “made a number of small mistakes and a number of larger mistakes.”
Yet many experts agreed Bankman-Fried came across as an unsympathetic figure. Paul Tuchmann, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner with Wiggin and Dana LLP, told CNBC that Bankman-Fried’s testimony had been “unpersuasive” and noted it took the jury only three hours to convict him on each count.
Trial attorney James Koutoulas said in an CNBC interview, “No one had a shred of support for SBF, nor should they have.”
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons will consider which federal penitentiary to send him to.
Bankman-Fried has signaled he plans to appeal his conviction.
Former correctional officer at women’s prison in California sentenced for sexually abusing inmates
OAKLAND, Calif. — A former correctional officer at a federal California women’s prison known for numerous misconduct allegations was sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing five inmates, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Nakie Nunley, who supervised inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, becomes the seventh correctional officer sentenced to prison for sexually abusing inmates, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A 2022 investigation by The Associated Press revealed a cultural of rampant sexual abuse and cover-up at the prison.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement that Nunley “egregiously exploited” his power to abuse inmates and retaliate against those who spoke up.
“As today’s sentence shows, the Justice Department will hold accountable officials who abuse their authority to harm those they are sworn to protect — and will not tolerate retaliation against victims,” Monaco said.
Nunley pleaded guilty last year to four counts of sexual abuse of a ward and five lesser felonies of abusive sexual contact of five women. He also admitted to lying to federal officials who were investigating allegations against him, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The prison is located about 40 miles east of San Francisco and has more than 600 inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
A Nigerian court has sentenced a Chinese man to death for killing his girlfriend
KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian court on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese national to death after finding him guilty of killing his girlfriend, a government official told The Associated Press, vowing to recommend execution if he unsuccessfully appeals the ruling.
Frank Geng-Quangrong was convicted by a local court in northern Nigeria’s economic hub of Kano state, Kano Justice Commissioner Haruna Dederi said. Geng-Quangrong had pleaded not guilty.
“This is a signal that whoever is coming to a society should be prepared to comply with the extant laws of that society,” Dederi said.
Death sentences for capital offenses are common in Nigeria and sometimes involve foreigners. A Danish man in 2022 was sentenced to die by hanging for killing his wife and daughter.
However, executions rarely occur as they require approvals by state governors. Only two warrants for death sentences have been signed since 1999, according to Inibehe Effiong, a Nigerian human rights lawyer.
Geng-Quangrong was accused of stabbing his girlfriend, 22-year-old Ummukulsum Sani, in September 2022 at a Kano residence. Local media quoted him as saying he stabbed her in self-defense.
He has up to three months to appeal his sentence at Nigeria’s Court of Appeal.
Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in 2020
Rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Los Angeles after he was convicted last year of shooting Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in 2020, prosecutors said.
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted in December of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and two other felonies.
“Over the past three years, Mr. Peterson has engaged in a pattern of conduct that was intended to intimidate Ms. Pete and silence her truths from being heard,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said. “Women, especially Black women, are afraid to report crimes like assault because they are too often not believed.”
During the trial, Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified that Lanez shot at the back of her feet and told her to dance when she was walking away from an SUV that was carrying them in 2020. The rappers had been at a party at Kylie Jenner’s house.
In an interview last year with “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, Megan said she wanted to get out of the vehicle because Lanez was having a heated argument with one of her friends. She said after she left the vehicle, shots rang out.
“He is standing up over the window shooting,” Megan told King. “And I didn’t even want to move. I didn’t want to move too quick. Like, cause I’m like, oh my God, if I take the wrong step, I don’t know if he’s going to shoot something that’s, like, super important. I don’t know if he could shoot me and kill me.”
Lanez was also convicted of having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
“Every day, I think of others across the world who are victims of violence and survive. It is truly the most powerless feeling, especially when you question whether the justice system can truly protect you,” Megan said in a statement read by Gascón.
At a press conference after the sentencing, Gascón and Deputy District Attorney Alex Bott described the years of harassment Megan faced after the shooting. Lanez subjected Megan to “years of hell,” Bott said.
“He intimidated her, he harassed her,” Bott said. “Nevertheless, in the face of all that abuse and vitriol, Megan showed the courage to come forward and speak her truth.”
Prosecutors were seeking a 13-year sentence from Superior Court Judge David Herriford. Lanez’s attorneys wanted him to be sentenced to probation.
His lawyers tried to get a new trial earlier this year. They argued that Lanez’s attorney in the original trial wasn’t given enough time to prepare, that Lanez didn’t ask Megan to not speak to the police as she testified and that authorities didn’t follow industry standards when using DNA evidence to tie Lanez to the shooting. Herriford rejected their arguments.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” Lanez’s lead attorney Jose Baez said outside the courthouse, according to the Associated Press. “I have seen vehicular homicide and other cases where there’s death, and the defendant still gets less than 10 years.”
Baez called the sentence “really just another example of someone being punished for their celebrity status and someone being utilized to set an example. And he’s not an example. He’s a human being.”
During Monday’s hearing, Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, apologized for saying Lanez was convicted in a “wicked system” following the jury’s guilty verdict. Peterson also said music became his son’s outlet after his mother died from a rare blood disorder when he was 11. In a letter, rapper Iggy Azalea urged the judge to impose a sentence that was “transformative, not life-destroying.”
The Associated Press and Aliza Chasan contributed reporting.
Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion
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Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot
LOS ANGELES — Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years after he was found guilty of shooting hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion in the foot after the pair left a Los Angeles party in 2020.
The hearing began Monday and wrapped Tuesday, ending a high-profile case that saw Megan, 28, subjected to what prosecutors called “repeated and grotesque attacks” and cast a spotlight on the scrutiny Black women face when reporting abuse.
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, shot the three-time Grammy winner, whose legal name is Megan Pete, following a party at reality star and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home July 12, 2020.
Lanez, 31, had pleaded not guilty, but a jury found him guilty of three felony charges in December: assault with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
The charges carried a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months behind bars. Prosecutors asked for a 13-year sentence, noting in a sentencing memorandum that Lanez re-traumatized the “Savage” rapper with social media posts about the trial, that led his followers to target her.
In seeking a shorter sentence, his lawyers argued for probation and that he be released from jail to a residential substance abuse program. They claimed Lanez has alcohol abuse disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress from the unexpected death of his mother when he was 11-years-old.
Prosecutors said they were “skeptical” of those claims, which were not presented throughout the trail.
“This case has nothing to do with mental illness,” prosecutor Alex Bott said. “He shot Meghan because she bruised his ego.”
Lawyers for the defense countered that there is a clear thread between Lanez’s trauma and heavy alcohol use and his violent actions in 2020.
“Someone has to be severely off to shoot someone because of a bruised ego,” Baez said.
The judge said he was “disinclined” to allow those factors to influence his decision
Megan testified that Lanez shouted for her to “dance” and fired a gun toward her feet when she walked away from an SUV the pair were in with two others. She told the court that she initially told police that she had cut her feet on glass when asked why she was bleeding. Doctors later found bullet fragments in her foot at the hospital that required her to undergo surgery.
In an April interview on “CBS Mornings” prior to the trial, she told Gayle King that she initially lied to police because she feared getting into a more dangerous situation.
“You think I’m about to tell the police that we … us Black people got a gun in the car?” she said. “You want me to tell the law that we got a gun in the car so they can shoot all of us up?”
Megan, who publicly named Lanez as the shooter in an Instagram Live video and addressed the incident in her song “Shots Fired,” also testified about the physical pain she still endures.
“I couldn’t walk for a while,” she said. “I still have nerve damage. I can’t really feel the side of my left foot. The back of my feet are always sore, but I just push through it.”
She told the court that Lanez offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the shooting.
Lanez, who dedicated an entire album to rebutting her version of events, did not testify at trial. His lawyers called Megan’s testimony, that Lanez asked her not to go to police because he was on parole, false and also argued that DNA evidence prosecutors used to identify him as the likely shooter fell short of industry standards.
His legal team also called the trial a “case about jealousy,” telling the jurors that Megan and her former friend Kelsey Nicole Harris, who was also in the car at the time of the incident, had gotten into an argument about Lanez and other men.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Tory Lanez to be sentenced for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot
Rapper Tory Lanez will be sentenced Monday in connection with shooting Megan Thee Stallion outside a Los Angeles party in 2020.
The hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. PST/1:30 p.m. EST.
The sentencing will bring an end to the case that saw a maelstrom of media attention, cast a spotlight on the scrutiny Black women face when reporting abuse and saw the “WAP” rapper subjected to what prosecutors called “repeated and grotesque attacks.”
Megan Thee Stallion accused Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of shooting her in the foot after they left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home in 2020.
He had pleaded not guilty and dedicated an entire album to rebutting her version of events.
Lanez was found guilty of three felony charges in December: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months behind bars and he faces possible deportation to Canada.
The 2020 shooting
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, testified at the Los Angeles County trial that Lanez shouted for her to “dance” and fired the gun towards her feet when she walked away from an SUV they were in with two others on July 12, 2020.
She told the court that she initially told police that she had cut her feet on glass when asked why she was bleeding.
She was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors found bullet fragments in her foot that required surgery to remove.
Weeks after the shooting incident in August 2020, the rapper publicly stated on Instagram that Lanez was the shooter. “Yes … Tory shot me,” she said. “It’s not that I was protecting anybody. I just wasn’t ready to speak.”
She also later took aim at him in the song “Shots Fired.”
“I couldn’t walk for a while,” she testified. “I still have nerve damage. I can’t really feel the side of my left foot. The back of my feet are always sore, but I just push through it.”
She also told the court that Lanez offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the shooting
In an April interview with Gayle King, prior to the trial, she explained she initially lied to police because she feared getting into a more dangerous situation.
“You think I’m about to tell the police that we … us Black people got a gun in the car?” she asked. “You want me to tell the law that we got a gun in the car so they can shoot all of us up?”
Case unfolds in court, online vitriol explodes
Lanez did not testify at the trial.
His lawyers called Megan Thee Stallion’s testimony, that Lanez asked her not to go to police because he was on parole, false. They also argued that DNA evidence prosecutors used to identify him as the likely shooter fell short of industry standards.
His legal team also called the trial a “case about jealousy.’’ They told jurors that Megan Thee Stallion and her former friend Kelsey Nicole Harris, who was also in the car at the time of the incident, had gotten into an argument about Lanez and other men.
The case also sparked a frenzy of online vitriol attacking the female rapper.
Her fans fought back, criticizing the public attention focused on the star’s sexual history. The attacks and insinuations against Megan Thee Stallion were dubbed “misogynoir,” meaning specific misogyny against Black women where sexism and racism intersect.
The December verdict hearing saw chaos unfold in court, when Lanez’s father leapt up and called prosecutors “evil” and “wicked” after the guilty verdict was read.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón praised Megan Thee Stallion for her “bravery” after the verdict, saying, “You showed incredible courage and vulnerability with your testimony despite repeated and grotesque attacks that you did not deserve.”
Lanez’s lawyers filed a motion for a new trial on May 9, which was denied.
Prosecutors asked for a 13-year sentence, noting in a sentencing memorandum that Lanez re—traumatized Megan Thee Stallion with social media posts about the trial, that led his followers to target her. His lawyers said in their sentencing memo that he should be sentenced to probation and released from jail to enter a residential substance abuse program.
The Associated Press contributed.
Former Minneapolis officer sentenced to nearly 5 years on state charge for role in George Floyd’s death
Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.
Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020.
A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.”
Floyd’s killing touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
In his 177-page ruling, Cahill said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, including an emergency medical technician, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote.
He concluded: “Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.”
Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn’t think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let Cahill decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin’s 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.
That trial in federal court ended in convictions for all three. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges instead of going to trial a second time, while Lane and Kueng pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
The sentence Cahill handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s 3 1/2-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday. His state sentence was more than the 4 years recommended under Minnesota state guidelines.
Lane and Kueng received 3 and 3 1/2-year state sentences respectively, which they are serving concurrently with their federal sentences of 2 1/2 years and 3 years. Thao is Hmong American, while Kueng is Black and Lane is white.
Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system but inmates can shave time off their sentences with good behavior.