Sam Bankman-Fried, 32, should serve 40 to 50 years in prison and repay $11 BILLION, federal prosecutors say in presentence recommendation to judge slamming FTX crypto fraudster's 'unmatched greed and hubris'

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's orchestration of one of the largest financial frauds in history deserves a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years, federal prosecutors have declared.  

Prosecutors made the recommendation in papers filed in Manhattan federal court Friday, in advance of the 32-year-old's anticipated sentencing, slated for March 28.

There, a federal judge will also consider a 100-year prison sentence for the incarcerated crypto-kingpin, recommended by the court's probation officers.

They will also consider a request from his defense for leniency, and a term of imprisonment not to exceed single digits. 

Bankman-Fried was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges late last year, after a dramatic fall from grace during his quest to dominate the cryptocurrency world.

It followed years of success where he and his companies appeared to be riding high, with a Super Bowl ad and endorsements from stars like Tom Brady and Larry David.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried - seen here posing with gangsters in a Brooklyn lockup back in December - deserves a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years, federal prosecutors said Friday

Prosecutors made the recommendation in papers filed in Manhattan federal court Friday, in advance of the 32-year-old's anticipated sentencing, slated for March 28. The term for the currently incarcerated crypto crook could be more than 100 years

'The sheer scale of Bankman-Fried's fraud calls for severe punishment,' prosecutors wrote, months after the autistic exchange founder was convicted of seven fraud and conspiracy offenses after a trial last fall.

'The amount of loss - at least $10 billion - makes this one of the largest financial frauds of all time,' they added. 

'His life in recent years has been one of unmatched greed and hubris; of ambition and rationalization; and courting risk and gambling repeatedly with other people's money'. 

If he is given a light sentence, prosecutors said, there is a risk that he would continue to carry out fraud.

Prosecutors also included several pages of customer messages sent to Bankman-Fried on X at the time of FTX's collapse, in which customers expressed anger at not having access to their accounts.

The sentencing submission comes after the FTX founder's three top lieutenants cooperated with the government, telling jurors behind closed door that they committed their crimes at Bankman-Fried's behest.

It also comes months after a seasoned Ivy League law professor told The New York Times' finance outfit Dealbook that term for the currently incarcerated crypto crook could be more than 100 years, but will more than likely be a half a century.

'The sheer scale of Bankman-Fried's fraud calls for severe punishment,' prosecutors wrote, months after the autistic exchange founder was convicted seven fraud and conspiracy offenses after a trial last fall 

'The amount of loss - at least $10 billion - makes this one of the largest financial frauds of all time,' they added. Former US President Bill Clinton, Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bankman-Fried are pictured in a Panel Discussion before his fall, in May 2022

Bankman-Fried is facingthe  federal charges following the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX

It followed years of success where he and his companies appeared to be riding high, with a Super Bowl ad and endorsements from stars like Steph Curry. Curry's advert showed him telling viewers: 'I'm not an expert and I don't need to be, with FTX I have everything I need to buy, sell, and trade crypto safely'

The sentencing submission comes after the FTX founder's three top lieutenants cooperated with the government, telling jurors behind closed door that they committed their crimes at Bankman-Fried's behest

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, left, and FTX tech chief Zixiao 'Gary' Wang are both potential witnesses to Bankman-Fried's fraud trial. Both have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are reportedly cooperating with prosecutors in the case

Marc Mukasey, the lawyer Bankman-Fried hired to prepare for the sentencing, has argued for leniency for his client

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York: 'The crypto industry might be new, but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption, is as old as time' 

Rumors have circulated that employees took amphetamines to keep working into the night 

'If you're going to deter, you have to reach an audience,' said Coffee of the prospective sentence, adding it would be enough to send a message to other would-be fraudsters and deter future crimes.

Coffee, widely considered an expert on 'white-collar' crime, went on to add how the judge presiding over the trial, the Southern District's Lewis Kaplan, was known to be 'very fair,' but also - in his words - not 'overly lenient.'

With this in mind, the professor said Bankman-Fried could conceivably serve 50 years given his age and the extent of his economic misdeeds, which he claimed is only second-worst to that of Bernie Madoff.

Madoff, who died in prison in 2021 aged 82, was sentenced to 150 years in 2009, after being found guilty on 11 criminal counts of fraud to the tune of $64billion.

While the dollar amount is more than the number linked to Bankman-Fried, it was accumulated over the course of 30 years - a timeframe that began before the FTX boss was even born.

Bankman-Fried's crimes, while committed in a fraction of the time, were more pronounced and, in many ways, made on an even greater scale, explained Coffee, citing the billions of dollars stolen in the four years comprising FTX's founding and spectacular fall.

At the time,  Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, added: 'The crypto industry might be new, but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption, is as old as time.'

Seasoned Ivy League law professor John C. Coffee  told The New York Times back in December that term for the currently incarcerated crypto crook would likely be a half-century long

The professor said Bankman-Fried could serve 50 years given his age and the extent of his misdeeds, which he claimed is second-worst to that of Bernie Madoff (seen here in 2009), who died in 2021 at 82 while serving a 150-year bid for fraud to the tune of $64billion

The Yale grad also compared Bankman's situation to the recent sentencing of Elizabeth Holmes, the woman behind the phony Theranos blood tests. She is seen here being led into a federal pen to begin her 11-year sentence in May after stealing $700million from investors

Marc Mukasey, the lawyer Bankman-Fried hired to prepare for the sentencing, argued in another legal filing that the 100-year sentence recommended by the probation department would be reminiscent of the 150 years given to Madoff, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. 

Any comparisons between the two men are inappropriate, Mukasey conceded, citing 'the duration and dollars' involved in Madoff's crimes.

The probation department's recommendation was 'barbaric' and 'grotesque,' he said - a conclusion that Coffee, back in November, agreed with

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has disagreed, and vowed to work toward a stark sentence after November's ruling. 

'If you're going to deter, you have to reach an audience,' said Coffee of the prospective sentence, adding it would be enough to send a message to other would-be fraudsters and deter future crimes.

Sam Bankman-Fried rode a wave of hype about crypto and before its collapse in November last year, FTX was worth $32 billion

Bankman-Fried stands talking to his lawyers after the verdict. They later indicated they intend to appeal

Bankman-Fried rode a wave of hype about crypto and before its collapse in November last year, FTX was worth $32 billion. 

He featured on the cover of Forbes magazine and appeared on stage with Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Bankman-Fried was lauded as the future of finance - crypto's Steve Jobs, who planned to give his fortune away as part of the doctrine of 'Effective Altruism' as he called it.

But as prosecutors argued in court, he 'lied to the world' because in reality he was simply stealing FTX customers' money.

The 'house of cards' came crashing down in 2022 amid tumbling crypto prices and media reports raising questions about how much of the $32 billion valuation was based on FTT, FTX's own crypto token.

As customers tried to withdraw their money it created the crypto equivalent of a run on a bank, and FTX shut down.

Bankman-Fried always maintained his innocence and kept talking to journalists long after it became obvious he was going to be arrested. 

Federal prosecutors built their case against him around the testimony of his three top employees, who all quickly took plea deals with the hope of securing more lenient sentences.

His parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried broke down when the guilty verdict against their son was read out

He was lauded as the future of finance, crypto's Steve Jobs, who planned to give his fortune away as part of the doctrine of 'Effective Altruism' as he called it

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried's parents, a pair of law professors at Stanford, said they are still sticking by their son and were seen visiting him at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center where he is being kept until his sentencing.

The tenured teachers, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are now being sued by their son's now-defunct company for allegedly profiting handsomely from his son's crypto empire.

They were seen crying in court in November, after the FTX founder was found guilty of embezzling $10billion of his clients' cash.

They have not been criminally charged, but Bankman-Fried, first put under house arrest, has spent the past three months in jail at MDC Brooklyn 

In total, Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison. He will remain incarcerated until his sentencing, fed said.