FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried stands before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan as he is sentenced to 25 years in prison, at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., March 28, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo, facing the prospect of spending much of his adult life behind bars, on Thursday appealed his conviction and 25-year prison sentence for stealing $8 billion from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.
Bankman-Fried's sentencing put an exclamation point on his downfall from an entrepreneur whose meteoric rise prompted adulation, reverence and jealousy from some quarters into the biggest trophy for U.S. prosecutors in their crackdown on excesses in the cryptocurrency markets. His wealth evaporated when Bahamas-based FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, following a wave of withdrawals by customers panicking over reports that Bankman-Fried commingled their assets with Alameda Research, a crypto-focused hedge fund he also controlled.Three former close associates testified as prosecution witnesses against Bankman-Fried, saying he ordered them to use FTX funds to pay Alameda's debts, make political donations and buy luxury real estate in the Bahamas.
His lawyers have complained that prosecutors worked too closely with FTX's bankruptcy estate, and asked it to hand over only information that would help their case. Earlier on Thursday, Bankman-Fried's former lawyer Mark Cohen questioned the disparity between Bankman-Fried's sentence and rival exchange Binance's founder Changpeng Zhao's maximum 18-month sentence for violating an anti-money laundering law.in connection with a $4.3 billion settlement for Binance and is due to be sentenced on April 30. Authorities said Binance failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with U.S.
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