Lawyers of convicted crypto fraudster Bankman-Fried are seeking a heavily reduced sentence of 63-78 months for crimes he committed as head of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
In a memorandum filed before the US District Court in Manhattan, his representatives argued that such a sentence would be sufficient yet not excessive in achieving the purposes of sentencing, given Bankman-Fried's history, character, and contributions.
In December 2022, Bankman-Fried was found guilty of eight charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX’s customers, wire fraud on FTX’s customers and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.
He faces up to 110 years in jail upon sentencing next month.
Yet the memorandum submitted on behalf of Bankman-Fried by his lawyers shot back at claims of him being an "evil genius" or "greedy villain".
Instead, they described him as a "31-year-old son, brother, friend, humanitarian, and philanthropist" with no history of drug use, alcohol abuse, or prior criminal involvement.
“Those who know Sam know he is selfless, altruistic and a young man” who, quoting Professor Edward Mills, demonstrated “a genuine concern for those less fortunate around the world”.
“Well before Alameda or FTX ever existed, Sam committed his life to philanthropy, pledging to earn money and give it away, with the goal of “helping the world’s poorest people.”
Prior to his downfall, Bankman-Fried espoused the virtues of ‘effective altruism’, a philosophical and social movement that aims to apply evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to benefit others.
It focuses on science and economics to evaluate the impact of various charitable interventions and prioritises resources towards those that have the highest potential to do good, considering factors like cost-effectiveness and scalability.
Bankman-Fried was said to have been introduced to effective altruism by Oxford philosopher Will MacAskill.
In contrast to the spirit of effective altruism, Bankman-Fried’s actions as head of FTX caused losses of over $8 billion worth of customer funds and helped to trigger a massive decline in prices across the crypto markets.
Whether his lawyers’ character testimony falls on deaf ears or not will be determined when Bankman-Fried is sentenced on 28 March.