Relatives of the former owner of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX begged the judge to reduce the sentence, arguing that Sam's naivety could provoke an “extreme danger” for him behind bars, Business Insider reports.
“I truly fear for Sam’s life in a typical prison environment,” his mother, Barbara Freed, wrote in a letter to the judge. “His appearance, inability to read and respond to certain social cues, and his touching but naive belief in the power of facts and reason in resolving disputes will place him in extreme danger.”
Letters from his parents and brother, as well as about 20 supporters, were added to a package of documents that lawyers filed with the court on Tuesday. They are demanding that his sentence be reduced to 78 months – or 6.5 years.
“In this environment, Sam's reactions will sometimes be perceived as strange, inappropriate and disrespectful; when that happens, he will be in physical danger,” wrote Sam’s father, Joseph Benkman. “Nothing can justify taking such a risk.”
In November, a jury found Sam Benkman-Fried guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy during a criminal trial in Manhattan overseen by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
First photo of Sam Bankman-Fried in jail#SamBankman pic.twitter.com/ZJHIgjGHRX
— FundedDesk (@FundedDesk) February 21, 2024
Prosecutors found that he mixed money from FTX clients with his other company, Alameda Research, and embezzled it. It was also reported that the “naive” Benkman-Fried used billions of client dollars to buy luxury goods or real estate, and was considering purchasing the island country of Nauru with the aim of building a bunker there. The sentence carries a maximum penalty of 110 years in prison
“Sam is only 32 years old and faces the prospect of spending most of his life in prison,” writes Barbara Fried. “His father and I understand that we will not live long enough to see his release. There are no words to express what we feel.”
Lawyers, meanwhile, said a lighter sentence would have been warranted because FTX's customers likely would have gotten back a significant portion of their funds in the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
Prosecutors will also have until March 15 to file their own recommendations ahead of the March 28 sentencing hearing.
In her emotional letter, Barbara Fried says her son has been wrongly labeled a “caricatured villain driven by greed” who committed the “fraud of the century.” In fact, he was supposedly an altruist and helped friends who had experienced family tragedies, although he himself struggled with depression all his life.
“I don't feel pleasure. I don't feel happy. Somehow, my reward system never worked,” Benkman-Fried’s notes from 2016, also attached to the appeal, said.
“I hate the pain I caused you. And I hate myself for causing it. I would really like to know how to love you better. I’m sorry,” reads another letter from Sam, likely sent to a loved one.
Barbara Fried, meanwhile, noted that his son's behavior and nervous tics in court are associated with autism
“He does not respond well to social cues in 'normal' ways, is uncomfortable looking people in the eye, and is uncomfortable with outward displays of emotion,” Fried writes. “He is not interested in small talk, but will passionately and tirelessly express ideas to the point of annoying and boring others.”
Barbara Fried—herself a renowned legal ethics expert—also said that John J. Ray III, the lawyer who took over FTX after its collapse, ignored Benkman-Fried's efforts to help recover clients' funds.
“When John Ray publicly complained that FTX's internal records were so poor that they could not produce a client list, Sam immediately found the relevant documents and wrote to them, but his letters were never responded to.”
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