WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 08: CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is seeking a reduced prison sentence of 63 to 78 months.
The defense argues that the US$8 billion shortfall FTX encountered upon declaring bankruptcy resulted from a spike in client withdrawals impacting liquid assets, rather than any direct financial injury to customers, creditors, or investors.
They claim that if FTX had been able to resume withdrawals after selling assets, there would have been no customer losses.
Bankman-Fried has reportedly been giving cryptocurrency investment tips to correctional officers at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, the New York Times reported.
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Bankman-Fried was convicted on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering and is scheduled for sentencing on March 28.
