How SBF’s 25 year prison sentence stacks up against other notorious fraudsters: The term pales in comparison to Bernie Madoff’s 150-years but is five more than Theranos founder
Sam Bankman-Fried has finally learned his fate following his conviction for stealing $8 billion from his cryptocurrency customers.
The disgraced entrepreneur faced a maximum prison sentence of 110 years after the stunning collapse of trading forum FTX.
He entered a plea for mercy at the 11th hour on Tuesday, with friends submitting letters asking for leniency from his sentence.
Prosecutors had recommended that Bankman-Fried receive 40 to 50 years in prison for his crimes.
But at Thursday’s sentencing in Manhattan, he received just 25 years in prison β a relatively light sentence in the scheme of things.
Sam Bankman-Fried has finally learned his fate following his conviction for stealing $8 billion from his cryptocurrency customers
Disgraced entrepreneur faced up to 110 years in prison after stunning collapse of trading forum FTX
The fraudster was also ordered to pay back $11 billion in restitution.
However, for his critics and especially his victims, the punishment is not enough.
In imposing the sentence, federal judge Lewis Caplan himself noted that “there is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future.” And it’s not a trivial risk at all.
βHe knew it was wrong,β Kaplan said. ‘He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad guess about the chance of being caught. But he won’t admit anything, that’s his right.’
The punishment seems even milder compared to some prison sentences handed out to similarly notorious fraudsters.
So how does SBF’s punishment compare to the rest?
Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff’s image as a self-made financial guru collapsed in 2008 after his investment advisory company was exposed as a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
He was convicted of money laundering and securities fraud and sentenced to 150 years in prison, where he ultimately died in 2021
Madoff, the man behind the largest and most devastating Ponzi scheme in history, which has robbed tens of thousands of victims worldwide of $65 billion.
He went from a high-flying Wall Street financier to living out his final days in a North Carolina prison.
Madoff’s world collapsed in 2008 after his investment advisory business was exposed as a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that had wiped out the fortunes of people – rich and poor alike – and destroyed charities and foundations around the world.
He was convicted of money laundering and securities fraud and sentenced to 150 years in prison, where he ultimately died in 2021.
Elizabeth Holmes
Holmes, then 29, is photographed in 2014 holding a nanotainer of blood at Theranos headquarters in Palo Alto, California, before she was convicted of fraud
She had secured nearly $1 billion in funding from some of the world’s biggest pockets before her invention was exposed as a scam
The 40-year-old is now nine months into her 11-year sentence after being jailed following a high-profile trial in 2022
Theranos founder Holmes took the medical world by storm when she claimed to have invented a technology that could diagnose a host of medical conditions using a finger-prick test.
She had secured nearly $1 billion in funding from some of the biggest pockets in the world.
But it turned out to be a sham and her lies were exposed in a series of explosive articles in The Wall Street Journal starting in October 2015.
The 40-year-old is now nine months into her 11-year sentence after being jailed following a high-profile trial in 2022.
She was convicted of four counts of fraud, each carrying a 20-year prison sentence.
The mother of two recently spent her milestone birthday behind bars at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas.
Jordan Belfort
Jordan Belfort faced 27 years behind bars after defrauding investors of millions of dollars intended to fuel his lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle
Ultimately, he served only 22 months and his story was turned into the film The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Wolf of Wall Street’s illegal stock market scheme was thrust back into the spotlight after Hollywood turned the fallen financier’s book about the incident into a movie.
But the reality was far from glamorous for Belfort’s 1,500 victims, who were the real losers of his 1999 scam.
Belfort faced a 27-year prison sentence after defrauding investors of millions of dollars intended to fuel his lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle.
Ultimately, Belfort was sentenced to just four years in prison and was released after 22 months and ordered to pay $110 million in restitution.
His story was turned into the hit film The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Charles Ponzi’s scams became so legendary that his name became shorthand for pyramid schemes
Ponzi was jailed for mail fraud and served a 14-year sentence
The fraud of the famous con man Charles Ponzi was so effective that his name became shorthand for pyramid schemes.
Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who arrived in Boston in 1903 with just $2.50 to his name.
He had already served two prison sentences for fraud and illegal activities when he came across a multimillion-dollar stamp scheme.
When his pyramid investment scheme was finally exposed in 1920, Ponzi’s investors had lost an estimated $20 million β or $225 million in today’s terms.
He was jailed for mail fraud and served a 14-year sentence.
Allen Stanford
Texas billionaire Allen Stanford was convicted of orchestrating the second largest investor fraud in American history
He was sentenced to 110 years in prison for defrauding investors in a $7 billion cricket tournament
Texas billionaire Allen Stanford was convicted of orchestrating the second largest investor fraud in American history.
Stanford created the ’20/20 for 20′ cricket match pitting the Stanford Superstars, made up of West Indian players, against an England XI in Antigua in 2008.
He was later found guilty of masterminding a Ponzi scheme that bilked victims out of $7 billion.
He was later sentenced to 110 years in prison, where he currently remains despite various appeals.