Sam Bankman-Fried Should Get 40 to 50 Years in Prison, Prosecutors Say

Federal prosecutors said on Friday that Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul, should receive a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years for his conviction on fraud charges.

The prosecutors outlined the sentencing recommendation in a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Bankman-Fried’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28, during which Judge Lewis A. Kaplan will decide his fate. He faces a maximum possible penalty of 110 years.

“Justice requires that he receive a prison sentence commensurate with the extraordinary dimensions of his crimes,” the prosecutors said in a 116-page sentencing memo to the judge.

In a separate filing last month, lawyers for Mr. Bankman-Fried, 32, argued that he should receive a sentence of no more than six and a half years.

A spokesman for Mr. Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

Just 18 months ago, Mr. Bankman-Fried was a high-flying crypto mogul, presiding over the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a $40 billion business empire. But then FTX collapsed practically overnight, putting him in the cross hairs of law enforcement.

In November, a federal jury in Manhattan convicted Mr. Bankman-Fried of stealing $8 billion from FTX’s customers to finance political contributions, investments in other companies and lavish real-estate purchases.