FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is about to be sentenced. In a statement submitted to the court on Wednesday, FTX CEO John Ray refuted SBF’s claim that investors suffered no losses and revealed that when he took over FTX, the company only had 105 bitcoins left, while customer claims amounted to nearly 100,000 bitcoins.
In early November last year, SBF, the founder of FTX, was found guilty on all seven charges, including fraud and money laundering. He will be officially sentenced on the 28th of this month. The US prosecutors have submitted a sentencing memorandum to the Southern District of New York Court, requesting a sentence of 40 to 50 years of imprisonment for SBF.
SBF’s legal team countered on Tuesday, arguing that a 50-year sentence distorted reality, as FTX had no losses to its customers, lending institutions, and investors. The assets have always been there, and each FTX user will receive 100% compensation per dollar, plus interest. Therefore, the judge should consider a maximum sentence of 6.5 years.
However, according to CoinDesk, FTX CEO John Ray, in a statement submitted to the court on Wednesday, refuted the claims made by SBF’s lawyers that customers suffered zero losses in the 2022 crash, calling these claims “absolutely heartless and clearly incorrect.”
In a victim impact statement written on behalf of FTX and its subsidiaries, John Ray told Judge Lewis Kaplan of the New York District Court that SBF’s delusional claims about FTX’s ability to pay were a false description of the company’s statement in January that it expected to fully repay its customers. John Ray pointed out that FTX now has enough money to repay its customers due to the rise in the price of Bitcoin and thousands of hours of hard work. However, this does not mean that SBF’s actions are not criminal. When he took over FTX, the exchange’s treasury was almost empty, with only 105 bitcoins remaining, while customer claims amounted to nearly 100,000 bitcoins.
John Ray further noted that while some lost assets have been recovered, other assets, such as the “hundreds of millions of dollars” spent on bribing Chinese officials and on various investments, including money used to network with celebrities and politicians, will never be recovered.
FTX victims still dissatisfied with the valuation of compensation
In addition, John Ray mentioned that despite the compensation plan being proposed, many FTX users are still extremely dissatisfied with the valuation of the assets to be compensated. As customers will be compensated based on the value of their investment portfolios at the time of bankruptcy, rather than the much higher current value, they “will never be able to recover the economic situation they should have had if it weren’t for SBF’s massive fraudulent behavior.”
Related reports:
– SBF Trial Eve: Prosecutors request 50-year imprisonment to deter similar frauds like FTX
– SBF becomes a prison mate’s plaything! New York Post reveals: he is often humiliated and extorted, forced to eat expired food
– SBF’s first appearance in court with an anxious look! Newly hired lawyer also litigating against Celsius, suspected of “conflict of interest” by the judge.