Live data from Hacker News

Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

cnn.com

421–430 of 1001 posts

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#421

I really don't understand the severity of criminal justice system punishment. SBF got sentenced to 25 years for a white collar financial crime while a guy in my hometown hit and killed 2 people, while DUI and ran over 100mph on a local street with 35mph limit got 26 months sentence forb2 vehicular homicide.

Vehicular deaths are almost always under prosecuted in the US.

This does not mean that it should be legal to defraud people of billions of dollars, ruin countless lives, and harm many more.

This is a rare case where a white collar crime was appropriately punished. Sam showed no remorse, and no evidence that he would not engage in similar crimes in the future. He earned this time.

Hopefully he’ll reform and be worthy of early release; but candidly I doubt it. I think he’s irredeemable.

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#422

I really don't understand the severity of criminal justice system punishment. SBF got sentenced to 25 years for a white collar financial crime while a guy in my hometown hit and killed 2 people, while DUI and ran over 100mph on a local street with 35mph limit got 26 months sentence forb2 vehicular homicide.

It’s simple really. Money is considered more important than human lives.

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#423

I really don't understand the severity of criminal justice system punishment. SBF got sentenced to 25 years for a white collar financial crime while a guy in my hometown hit and killed 2 people, while DUI and ran over 100mph on a local street with 35mph limit got 26 months sentence forb2 vehicular homicide.

[deleted]

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#424
post #62

I think that's about fair and reasonable. It's been said in Europe he would not have gotten more than years and it's probably true. 25 years is a really long time and even if he does only 20, still super long. Here's a live tweeting of the sentencing hearing; some of Judge Kaplan's remarks are really interesting. https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/177334004374401064...

If I broke into a person's house and stole $1000, even if I didn't directly hurt that person, I could expect to get several years in prison, basically regardless of the state. Lets say three years to be conservative on this? Sam Bankman Fried stole billions of dollars [1], probably often around $1000 at a time from tens of thousands of people. If going with my logic, he should be getting a lot longer than 25 years, u…

Breaking and entering into someone's house and stealing their cash is very different from having an obligation to pay them out cash and not fulfilling it. While it may be the same amount of money, it's a radically different relationship between parties.

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#425

It blows my mind that we let sex offenders off for less. Is it just me or does that seem backwards? Brian Peck got 16 months of prison and it seems to be that he caused a lot more harm to society than ol SBF here.

Legally, Brian Peck injured two victims. SBF arguably injured far more than that (especially if you assign even partial responsibility for the suicides of people he victimized).

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If anything, it's excessive if you consider the nature of the crime relative to the nature of murder or kidnapping. I suspect the resulting number of shortened lives amongst all the people who lost $8 billion worth of their money due to the fraud is more than the number caused by a single murder.

I thought the “lost” money was simply due to poor accounting and actually found. > Kaplan said he had found that FTX customers lost $8 billion, FTX's equity investors lost $1.7 billion, and that lenders to the Alameda Research hedge fund Bankman-Fried founded lost $1.3 billion. https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-bankman-fried-be-sent... Clearly the real crime is bilking investors out of their money. It’s also que…

> > So basically the traders did a bank run and Sam ended up going to jail. It’s interesting that by contrast SVB leaders didn’t face any repercussions because they were part of the established ways of doing things even though that ended up being very costly for the government.

Because Silicon Valley Bank leaders were nobodies whereas SBF became perceived as a trophy, pretty much immediately.

This is something to be mindful on. When doing self promotion some people start seeing you as an inspiration , many others as a fraud or a human trophy to be captured and paraded around.

Especially in startup communities where groupthink takes over and everybody wants to be the new cult figure of the Silicon Valley or the crypto valley or whatever. People outside that bubble (especially LE, prosecutors and judges) see right through that BS and are specifically looking with a magnifying glass everything that goes on hoping to get themselves a nice trophy on their desk, they want the heads of cult founders. Some would say rightfully so.

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#429
post #317

From the article, SBF will likely be out in 2036, at the age of 45. There’s a good chance he’ll get himself into shenanigans again, if not already from inside prison.

Or he could end up like Michael Milken, who went to jail for securities fraud but became known as a philanthropist. As Gandalf once said to Frodo, Pity? It's a pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. [0] [0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7374580…

A philanthropist with the money he stole? His entire fortune is fruit of the poisoned tree. Milken is trash. He was in the 80s, and he is trash in the 20s.

No amount of philanthropy washing can erase the damage his done.

Fuck that guy.

Re: Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

#430
post #417

I really don't understand the severity of criminal justice system punishment. SBF got sentenced to 25 years for a white collar financial crime while a guy in my hometown hit and killed 2 people, while DUI and ran over 100mph on a local street with 35mph limit got 26 months sentence forb2 vehicular homicide.

Intent has a lot to do with it. SBF operated with forethought and malice. He intended to deceive people. He was trying to commit fraud. Hometown guy did not intend to crash or kill anybody. Now the results of hometown guy's actions were more direct and severe, but had he had the choice, he would not have crashed and killed anybody. He's not a criminal, just a fucking idiot.

> SBF operated with forethought and malice.

And hometown guy accidentally got behind the wheel of a car while drunk?

Post reply on HN