(Bloomberg) — FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. It was shorter than the 40 to 50 years that federal prosecutors had recommended, but above the six-and-a-half-year sentence requested by the defense lawyers. The decision sets the tone for others accused of crimes involving digital assets, including former Celsius Network Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alex Mashinsky, Terraform Labs Pte co-founder Do Kwon and Binance Holdings Ltd. founder Changpeng Zhao.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Here’s a look at where some of the most prominent criminal cases involving cryptocurrency fraud stand.
The Defendants
Do Kwon
Terraform Labs Co-Founder
Plea: While he hasn’t entered a formal plea in the US case, Kwon has denied wrongdoing and said he has stolen no moneyStatus: Awaiting extradition Age: 32Charges : Kwon is charged with two counts of conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, two counts of commodities fraud, which carry a top punishment of 10 years, two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud – both of which come with a potential 20-year sentence.Allegations: The Terraform Labs Pte co-founder was released from prison in Montenegro last weekend as the country’s highest court weighs competing extradition requests from South Korea and the US, which wants to try Kwon for the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin in 2022. His extradition fight is playing out as a trial over civil claims by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Terraform is ongoing in federal court in New York. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro a year ago while trying to board a private jet to Dubai. He was later convicted of attempting to travel using a fake passport and sentenced to four months behind bars. His team is pushing for South Korea, where sentences for white-collar crimes are generally less harsh than in the US. Kwon has denied wrongdoing and said he has stolen no money.
Alex Mashinsky
Celsius Network Founder
Plea: Not GuiltyStatus: Awaiting trial in January Age: 58Charges : Two counts of securities fraud, commodities fraud, two counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation. He faces as much as 20 years on the securities fraud, wire fraud and market manipulation charges, 10 years for commodities fraud and five years for conspiracy.
Allegations: Mashinsky is scheduled to go on trial in January on charges that he made false and misleading statements about the health of Celsius before it filed for bankruptcy in 2022. The 58-year-old last month said he was comfortable proceeding to trial using the same lawyers as Bankman-Fried after prosecutors raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
Changpeng Zhao
Binance Founder
Plea: GuiltyStatus: Awaiting sentenceAge: 47Charges : Failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. He faces 18 months in prison.Allegations: Binance and its founder pleaded guilty last year to anti-money laundering and sanctions charges to resolve a long-running probe by US prosecutors and regulators. Binance will pay $4.3 billion as part of the deal and will have its compliance monitored by an independent firm for as long as five years. As part of the plea agreement, he relinquished his CEO post at Binance and agreed to pay a $50 million fine.
Avraham Eisenberg
Crypto Trader
Plea: Not GuiltyStatus: Awaiting April 8 trial Age: N/ACharges : Avraham is charged with one count of commodities fraud and one count of commodities manipulation, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years.Allegations: The crypto trader is accused of stealing $110 million in 20 minutes by scamming the Mango Markets cryptocurrency exchange. Prosecutors claim he manipulated Mango Markets futures contracts in October 2022, driving up the price of swaps by 1,300% and using them to borrow about $110 million of cryptocurrency from other Mango depositors.
FTX Collaborators
Caroline Ellison
Alameda Research Chief Executive OfficerAge: 29
Nishad Singh
FTX engineering chiefAge: 28
Gary Wang
FTX co-founderAge: 31
Ryan Salame
Co-CEO FTX Digital MarketsAge: 30
Allegations: Ellison, Singh and Wang, among Bankman-Fried’s closest friends, pleaded guilty to fraud charges and testified as prosecution witnesses at his fraud trial. They will face their own sentencing in the coming months. The government will prepare what’s known as a 5K letter for the judge outlining how helpful they were in the investigation, from any initial reluctance to come forward to the value of the information they provided. The trio described how Bankman-Fried directed them in different ways to give Alameda special, secret privileges on the FTX exchange and drawn down on customer funds to use on corporate expenses, like real estate and investments.
Salame pleaded guilty in September 2023, but didn’t testify against Bankman-Fried. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 1 and faces as much as five years for each of the two charges he pleaded guilty to.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.