Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on the Sentencing of Sam Bankman-Fried

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, released this statement on social media platform X (formerly twitter) after Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison:

Samuel Bankman-Fied orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, stealing over $8 billion of his customers’ money. His deliberate and ongoing lies demonstrated a brazen disregard for customers’ expectations and disrespect for the rule of law, all so that he could secretly use his customers’ money to expand his own power and influence.

The scale of his crimes is measured not just by the amount of money that was stolen, but by the extraordinary harm caused to victims, who in some cases had their life savings wiped out overnight. As a result of his unprecedented fraud, Bankman-Fried faces 25 years in prison, forfeiture of over a billion dollars and restitution to his victims.

Today’s sentence will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe.

Here is the full press release from the Office of Public Affairs.