Did SBF's Testimony Seal His Fate?

tremendousblog

Nov 3

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on all counts in federal court yesterday. His own testimony may have helped seal his fate.

'I Cannot Recall'

From The New York Times:

Mr. Bankman-Fried's decision to take the stand allowed him to argue he had no intent to steal money and defraud anyone. But it was a risky move and Mr. Bankman-Fried said he "couldn't recall" more than 140 times in response to questions on cross-examination.

FTX collapsed less than a year ago. When you tell a jury over and over that you can't remember anything about events that recent, they smell bulls—.

Zero Contrition

SBF was so evasive in response to the prosecutor's questions that even the judge was visibly annoyed. And it didn't help that he seemed to regard the proceedings as one big joke.

From Axios:

SBF's frustration peaked when Sassoon presented a document on FTX key principles submitted to Congress in early 2022. It included a statement that, "adequate liquid resources to ensure the platform can return the customer's assets upon request."

• When asked to read a portion of this document aloud, SBF mocked an informercial-like voice.

If the trial was a joke, the joke was on him.

A Ridiculous Defense

Fundamentally, his defense never made any sense. How can you not know that taking $10 billion in customer money without their permission and spending it isn't okay?

A better defense might have been that SBF didn't know about the withdrawals and his underlings acted alone. Or maybe he could've argued that his doctor-prescribed ADHD medications drove him into a mania in which he couldn't distinguish right from wrong.

But I doubt even those defenses would've worked. The evidence was just too damning.

The Sentence

Now, the disgraced former crypto mogul faces up to 110 years in prison. He also may be tried early next year on even more charges.

Realistically, the sentences for each count will probably run concurrently, not consecutively. That would put his sentence at closer to 20 years.

However, the judge may throw the book at SBF given his lack of contrition. From Bloomberg:

"He has lost a lot of his arguments for a reduced sentence by taking the case to trial, by not accepting responsibility, and by essentially arguing at every turn that he at least did not commit fraud," [former federal prosecutor Ari Redbord] said. "Those are the kinds of factors that cause prosecutors to ask for very, very high sentences."

SBF will be sentenced on March 28th, 2024. I'd set the line at 19 years.

Wrap-Up

In the end, despite all the cryptobabble, SBF's crimes were very simple.

His job was to safeguard people's money. He stole it and spent it on himself.

That's fraud. End of story.

How many years do you think SBF will get? Leave a comment and let us know!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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