- Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday.
- He wiped his red eyes while his parents hung their heads or looked out the window.
The clanging of Sam Bankman-Fried's leg shackles announced his entrance into Manhattan federal court, where he learned that he was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday.
Bankman-Fried, the fallen cryptocurrency mogul and former CEO of FTX, appeared to wipe tears from his reddened eyes as US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence.
Standing in brown prison garb without cuffs on his wrists, Bankman-Fried appeared more reserved than he did during his six-week trial, after which he was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. He departed from the cropped haircut he favored during the trial in October, bringing his signature curly black mane out of retirement.
His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, sat in a pew near the front of the public gallery. As Bankman-Fried walked into the room and took his seat, his mother trained her mournful eyes on her son. At other points throughout the hearing, she stared out the window and chewed on her lip while his father leaned forward, holding his head in his hands.
Bankman-Fried's attorneys described him as "an incredibly kindhearted and generous person" who is "a beautiful puzzle" of complexities.
"Really, he's an awkward math nerd. He thinks in probabilities about everything," said attorney Marc Mukasey, who previously asked the court to sentence his client to 6.5 years in prison.
Speaking before the court, Bankman-Fried apologized for the pain caused to customers, maintaining that they could all be repaid in full. He said he made "mistakes" and "bad decisions," though he notably avoided saying he committed crimes.
Assistant US attorney Nicolas Roos, noting that the defense team had accused the prosecution of villainizing Bankman-Fried, said he's "not a monster, but he is someone who committed gravely serious crimes."
Fried's head snapped up when Roos called for a sentence of at least 40 years.
Prior to handing down the 25-year sentence, Kaplan called Bankman-Fried a "mathematical wizard," saying he essentially ran a cost-benefit analysis of getting caught versus getting away with fraud.
"Mr. Bankman-Fried, no doubt, very well advised and proudly so, says 'mistakes were made,'" Kaplan said. "I think one of his pithier expressions was, 'I fucked up,' but never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes."