Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) 25-Year Prison Sentence Sparks Debate

The conversation around 25-year prison sentence of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has changed.

The conversation around the 25-year prison sentence of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has changed. After some voices in the crypto community suggested that the punishment was too harsh, lawyer John Deaton stepped in with a strong opinion regarding the conversation. His comments have added a new twist to the ongoing debate about whether justice was served.

Community Member Zach Revisits SBF Sentence

In a recent post on X, a crypto community member named Zach questioned whether Bankman-Fried’s sentence was too harsh.

“Is 25 years too harsh for SBF? I feel like his customers are being paid back in full plus interest. It wasn’t that FTX went bankrupt; they had cash flow problems. Yes, combining FTX customer funds and Alameda was illegal, but it feels like poor management rather than criminal intent. Sam might have made decisions based on utilitarianism and effective altruism. Not greed. But maybe I’m out of touch. Thoughts?” asked Zach.

While he admitted that combining FTX customer funds with Alameda Research was illegal, Zach believed it was a case of poor management rather than criminal intent. He said Sam might have made decisions based on utilitarianism and effective altruism, rather than acting out of greed.

After facing pushback from community members regarding his opinion, Zach quickly clarified that he was not arguing SBF’s innocence. Instead, he believed a 25-year sentence without parole for poor decision-making was not justice.

“I’m not saying he's innocent. He lied repeatedly, broke the law, and people lost money. But 25 years without parole for poor decision-making and no greed seems harsh, especially considering he's paying back creditors in full with interest. To me, it feels like a sentence for a violent crime, which this wasn’t. Of course, ultimately it's up to the judge and the legal system to decide on the sentence, and I respect their decision. I'm just sharing my thoughts on the matter. I'd love to hear what others think as well,” he added.

John Deaton Shares Hot Take

Meanwhile, John Deaton does not hold back when he responds to Zach’s argument. In his X post on social networking site X, Deaton said Sam should be enjoying every year of his 25-year sentence without parole.

“Sam's parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, should also be facing prison time. The trial evidence, private chats, showed Sam's public image of altruism was fake. He showed no remorse after the collapse of FTX. And Sam donated $10M to the Biden administration. Former Florida AG Pam Bondi should reopen the SBF campaign finance fraud case that was dropped because it involved elected officials. It's a disgrace that it was dismissed. #FTX /