How ‘a Criminal Choice’ Got Sam Bankman-Fried a 25-Year Prison Sentence

1. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), FTX’s co-founder, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and $11 billion in forfeiture for massive fraud, marking a historic moment in the crypto industry. Judge Lewis Kaplan emphasized the sentence’s necessity due to Bankman-Fried’s risk-oriented decision-making philosophy known as “expected value” and lack of remorse.

Sam Enzer joined Unchained to unpack the sentencing, discussing the fairness of the length, explaining how the $11 billion forfeiture would work and how it’s different from the bankruptcy proceedings. Additionally, Enzer provided insights into the kind of prison SBF would end up in and into the three-year supervised release SBF will face after his prison term. The conversation further delved into the broader impact of the sentencing on the crypto industry, suggesting it could signify the end of a dark chapter.

Show highlights:

• Whether the 25-year sentence is fair, according to Sam
• What the $11 billion in forfeiture means for SBF
• Whether the assets of SBF actually belong to the FTX estate
• Where SBF will likely go to prison and why Sam believes that SBF will not go to a maximum security prison
• When the clock starts ticking for the 25-year sentence
• Why SBF will not be eligible for parole and whether he could get “good time credit”
• What the defense will attempt in appealing the conviction
• What types of behavior could get SBF enough credit to appeal for a reduced sentence
• Why SBF will have to be supervised for three years after his release
• How SBF’s philosophy about “expected value,” was the theme of the crime, according to Judge Kaplan
• Whether the co-conspirators, such as Caroline Ellison, will be sentenced and serve in prison
• Why Sam says that the sentencing represented “the closing of a dark chapter” in crypto

Thank you to our sponsors!

• iTrustCapital
• Polkadot

Guest

• Sam Enzer, Partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel
  • Previous appearances on Unchained:
    • Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto
    • Why SBF’s Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed Him
    • Another Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal Trial
    • Why These Lawyers Say It’s Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify
    • SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
    • SBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?

Links

• Unchained:
  • FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for Historic Fraud
  • SBF’s Prison Sentencing Is Coming Up. How Many Years Will He Get?
  • Is Prison Crypto’s New Glow-Up? Post-Incarceration Do Kwon and SBF Are Admired
  • What to Expect from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Sentencing – and the Lessons We Should Learn