- Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers urge the judges to reduce the sentence to 65 to 78 months.
- SBF has a medical condition; he is suffering from autism, and he is improving to be a better person.
- The former FTX CEO was sentenced to 100 years by the judges in November 2023; he is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.
The former chair of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted in November last year of embezzling $8 billion from customers. However, on Tuesday, Sam Bankman’s lawyer was in court and urged the lawyer to impose a lenient sentence on his client. Lawyers for the former FTX chief requested a sentence of 68 to 75 months after he was found guilty of seven counts of fraud last year. The probation found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty and recommended a sentence of 100 years in prison, which was scheduled to be sentenced on March 28th.
However, the former FTX chief’s lawyer filed a memo on Tuesday, highlighting that his client was suffering from neurological issues that could not be overcome. The lawyers added to the memo, “Sam Bankman-Fried feels awful about his actions and the pain he has caused over the last two years. He did not commit such an action that deserves 100 years in prison.” Furthermore, Bankman’s sole focus is making customers whole, the lawyers added to the memo.
Sam Lawyers wrote in the memo that he is hardworking and he was not malicious. Moreover, Sam’s parents extended a hand of support to their kid, according to his mother SBF was a hardworking man, his father also added that a 100-year sentence would put him in danger; additionally, they said their son was not materialistic. On the contrary, Sam Bankman presented the opposite lifestyle: Sam and his colleagues lived a lavish lifestyle and lived in a $35 million penthouse.
Moreover, SBF lawyers claimed that Sam is too autistic for prison: “He is bad at responding to social cues in ‘normal’ ways, uncomfortable looking people in the eye, uncomfortable with outward shows of emotion.” The lawyer also expressed concerns about his future prospects, “he will be followed by legal proceedings for the rest of his life. Acquiring a job, loan, and visa to travel will be a challenging factor.”