Sam Bankman-Fried author Michael Lewis reveals disgraced FTX boss’ BIGGEST fear – as he faces spending up to 115 years in jail for fraud
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty this week of stealing $10 billion from customers in one of the largest financial frauds in American history.
But life behind bars is the least of Bankman-Fried’s worries, according to Michael Lewis. He interviewed the 31-year-old for two years for his book ‘Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of New Tycoon’.
Lewis even teased that the answer, while “crazy” to some, may not be surprising to those who followed the rollercoaster trial – which left SBF staring down the barrel of more than 100 years in prison.
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty of stealing customers in one of the largest financial frauds in US history
Last month, Lewis appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday to discuss his book and Bankman-Fried’s state of mind before the trial.
CBS Jon Wertheim asked Lewis, who met Bankman-Fried more than 100 times over a two-year period for the book, what the 31-year-old fears most about prison.
“I don’t have internet,” Lewis said.
‘That sounds crazy, but I think if he had the internet he could survive prison forever.
But being behind bars is the least of Bankman-Fried’s worries, according to Michael Lewis, who spoke with the 31-year-old for two years for his book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of New Tycoon.”
“Without having a constant stream of information for him to respond to, I think he’s going crazy.”
Lewis added that if Bankman-Fried had the choice of living in his $39 million penthouse in the Bahamas without internet or the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn with internet: ‘I have no doubt he would go to jail.’
Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison after being found guilty on all seven counts Thursday by a Manhattan federal court jury that deliberated for less than five hours. He will be sentenced next March.
The ruling came just a year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a rapid business collapse that shocked financial markets and wiped out his estimated personal fortune of $26 billion.
Bankman-Fried, who had pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy, faced the jury with his hands folded in front of him as the verdict was read out.
The conviction was a victory for the U.S. Justice Department and Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who made rooting out corruption in financial markets one of his top priorities.
“The crypto industry may be new, players like Sam Bankman-Fried may be new, but this type of fraud is as old as time and we have no patience for it,” Williams told reporters outside the courthouse.
Once the darling of the crypto world, Bankman-Fried – who was known for his tousled tousled curls and for wearing shorts and T-shirts instead of business attire – joins the likes of noted Ponzi founder Bernie Madoff and ‘Wolf of Wall Street’. ‘fraudster Jordan Belfort as notable people convicted of major US financial crimes.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan set Bankman-Fried’s sentencing for March 28, 2024. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate could face decades in prison.
His lawyer Mark Cohen said in a statement that he was “disappointed” but respected the jury’s decision.
‘Mr. Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him,” he said.
CBS’ Jon Wertheim asked Lewis, who met with Bankman-Fried more than 100 times over a two-year period for the book, what the 31-year-old fears most about prison
After Kaplan left the courtroom, Cohen put his arm around Bankman-Fried as they spoke at the defense table.
As Bankman-Fried was led away by members of the U.S. Marshals Service, he turned and nodded to his parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried.
Bankman-Fried will appear in court in March on a second set of charges filed by prosecutors earlier this year, including alleged foreign bribery and bank fraud conspiracies.
Bankman-Fried’s case was the first of several blockbuster cases Williams brought against former high-flying cryptocurrency executives to go to trial.
Several crypto companies went bankrupt last year after the prices of bitcoin and other digital assets collapsed after a years-long boom.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Bankman-Fried moved money from FTX to his crypto-focused hedge fund Alameda Research, despite proclaiming on social media and in television advertisements that the exchange was prioritizing the safety of customer funds.
Alameda used the money to pay its lenders and to make loans to Bankman-Fried and other executives — who in turn made speculative venture investments and donated more than $100 million to U.S. political campaigns in an effort to advance cryptocurrency legislation that the defendant considered favorable. his company, prosecutors said.
Bankman-Fried took the calculated risk of testifying in his own defense for three days toward the end of the trial, after three former members of his inner circle testified against him.
He faced aggressive cross-examination by the prosecutor, often avoiding direct answers to the most probing questions.
Bankman-Fried has been jailed since August after Kaplan revoked his bail after concluding he likely tampered with witnesses
He testified that while he had made mistakes running FTX, such as failing to assemble a risk management team, he had not stolen money from customers.
He said he thought Alameda’s borrowing from FTX was permitted and that he only realized how large the debt had become shortly before both companies went bankrupt.
“We thought we might build the best product on the market,” Bankman-Fried testified. “It actually turned out to be the opposite.”
The prosecutors had a different opinion.
“He did not bargain for his three loyal deputies to take that stand and tell you the truth: that he was the one with the plan, motive and greed to plunder FTX customer deposits – billions and billions of dollars – to benefit himself to give money. “power, influence,” prosecutor Danielle Sassoon told the jury on Thursday.
‘He thought the rules didn’t apply to him. He thought he could get away with it.”
The jury heard 15 days of testimony, including former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, who testified for the prosecution after entering guilty pleas.
They said he directed them to commit crimes, including helping Alameda loot FTX and lying to lenders and investors about the company’s finances.
The defense argued that the three, who have not yet been convicted, falsely implicated Bankman-Fried in an attempt to gain leniency at sentencing.
Prosecutors can ask Kaplan to take their cooperation into account when determining their sentence.
Bankman-Fried has been jailed since August after Kaplan revoked his bail, concluding he likely tampered with witnesses.