SBF repeatedly lied to get out of “supervillain” prison term, FTX CEO alleges

Enlarge / FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (R) departs Manhattan Federal Court after an arraignment hearing on March 30, 2023, in New York City. (credit: Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images News)

The CEO of FTX Trading, John Ray, sent a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan Wednesday to correct what he called “callously” and “demonstrably false” claims that disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried made in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence for crimes including defrauding FTX customers.

In a sentencing memo, Bankman-Fried asked the court to drastically slash his prison sentence from what he considered a “grotesque” 110-year maximum to five to six years. Prosecutors have suggested the sentence should be between 40 and 50 years, but Bankman-Fried claimed such a sentence painted him as a “depraved supervillain,” Bloomberg reported.

The lightest sentence was appropriate, Bankman-Fried claimed, because the “most reasonable estimate of loss” and “harm” to customers, lenders, and investors is “zero.”