For those wondering, prosecutors asked for 50 years in prison, defense asked for 5 years. So this sentence is right down the middle. 50 years in prison would have been way too long IMO.
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
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Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#32If he’s eligible for parole at 1/3 of a 25 year sentence, he will spend anywhere from between 8 years, 4 months in prison or 25 years. That would make him somewhere between 40 and 57 when he gets out.
No parole in the Federal system. There's (some) time off for good behavior.
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#33Considering the multitude of charges, this is actually pretty low. It appears he was sentenced to a less-than-full term for each of the charges, to be served sequentially (since if the sentences were served simultaneously, the total actual term would be much less than 25 years).
We'll know more in about an hour.
EDIT: Actually, the Verge has already reported:"The judge applied a 240-month sentence and a 60-month sentence to be served consecutively."
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#34Seems low for what prosecutors consider "one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history." https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-bankman-fried-be-sent...
If someone isn't a violent threat to society, there isn't much social benefit to keeping folks locked up longer then 20-ish years. 20-25 (assuming he gets the 15% off for good behavior the feds allow) is plenty.
I think ruining thousands of lives through fraud without remorse constitutes a threat to society. He should never see the light of day again.
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#35A year ago, HN didnt think he was going to jail: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33908850
One person was cynical. Everyone else chimed in to correct that person: SBF was "new money" which carries no social status to protect against jail time.
There were dozens if not hundreds of SBF threads; the above link is just one subthread of one of those threads. In each of them, quite a few people would argue he'd never see consequences; his political donations were extensively pointed to as evidence of this.
(Including, notably, Elon Musk: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1591822387267665921)
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#36The US prison sentence lengths are insane.
Insanely low? Insanely high?
SBF hasn’t really accepted responsibility or apologized through the trial, and didn’t at sentencing either.
Judge Kaplan seems to have taken a balanced view — far from the statutory maximum, less than the U.S. wanted, more than the defense wanted.
There will of course be appeals — SBF has already indicated he will file one.
There’s good coverage of what took place at sentencing today here — https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/177334004374401064...
Also of note is since this is a federal conviction there is no parole in that system, and so unless SBF is successful in his appeal, he will spend at least 255 months in prison, that’s a 15% reduction versus the total sentence in return for good behavior while serving his sentence.
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#37If he’s eligible for parole at 1/3 of a 25 year sentence, he will spend anywhere from between 8 years, 4 months in prison or 25 years. That would make him somewhere between 40 and 57 when he gets out.
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#38He will have to serve 21 years before early release. There is no parole in federal prison. I heard 5 years are concurrent making it 20 actual years. If that’s the case he can get out in 17 years. He wasted a good part of his life.
Is this fedral? I thought it was Manhattan DA?
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#39Is it possible he gets a pardon from Biden? Apparently Ross Ulbrecht who is arguably much more serious crime, was close to getting a pardon from Trump (he seriously discusses it with his advisors at least and expressed sympathy)
Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
#40Seems low for what prosecutors consider "one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history." https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-bankman-fried-be-sent...
If someone isn't a violent threat to society, there isn't much social benefit to keeping folks locked up longer then 20-ish years. 20-25 (assuming he gets the 15% off for good behavior the feds allow) is plenty.
> there isn't much social benefit to keeping folks locked up
Deterrent