Two years in jail for tax and securities violations. Eleven years for deceiving buyers. A 150-year sentence for the biggest Ponzi scheme in historical past.
The nation’s most infamous white-collar fraudsters — like Bernie Madoff and Elizabeth Holmes — have obtained a spread of punishments for his or her crimes, from comparatively quick jail phrases to successfully a life sentence.
On Thursday, Sam Bankman-Fried, the onetime cryptocurrency mogul, joined their ranks, receiving a 25-year sentence for fraud, conspiracy and cash laundering.
Mr. Bankman-Fried was convicted of stealing $8 billion from clients of his worldwide crypto alternate, FTX — expenses that carry a most sentence of 110 years. In authorized filings, prosecutors cited 13 examples of white-collar prosecutions that concerned a lack of greater than $100 million. In all however two of these instances, the defendant was sentenced to 40 years or extra.
Right here’s how Mr. Bankman-Fried’s sentence compares with penalties confronted by different high-profile white-collar criminals.
Michael Milken
Mr. Milken, as soon as often called the “junk bond king” of Wall Avenue, was sentenced to 10 years in 1990 for securities fraud, tax fraud and different crimes. He finally served solely two years, a reward for his cooperation with the authorities. After his launch, Mr. Milken began a philanthropic profession, elevating cash for most cancers analysis and different causes.
“Milken’s two-year sentence gave him a second likelihood,” Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals wrote in a current courtroom submitting. “Given the identical likelihood, Sam would dedicate his post-prison life to charitable works, discovering the very best methods to assist others.”
Mr. Skilling, the previous chief govt of Enron, was initially sentenced to 24 years in jail in 2006 for his function within the power large’s collapse, however that punishment was lowered after an enchantment. He finally spent 12 years in jail.
Bernard Madoff
Mr. Madoff, a Wall Avenue financier, orchestrated what’s thought to be the biggest Ponzi scheme in historical past and was sentenced to 150 years in jail in 2009. He was in his 70s on the time of the sentencing and died in prison 12 years later.
In a courtroom submitting, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals sought to distinguish the FTX case from Mr. Madoff’s fraud.
Mr. Madoff’s clients have been “a good community of households and pension funds that believed they have been investing in a conservative car,” the legal professionals wrote. “The crypto investor/dealer has a really totally different danger profile.”
Ms. Holmes, the founding father of the blood-testing start-up Theranos, was sentenced in 2022 to barely greater than 11 years in jail for deceiving buyers in her firm. Ms. Holmes reported to jail in Could, a couple of months after her thirty ninth birthday.
In a sentencing submitting, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals pointed to “parallels” between him and Ms. Holmes, together with their relative youth. However Ms. Holmes “is definitely much more culpable,” the legal professionals wrote. “She put sufferers in danger.”
