Sam Bankman-Fried Issues First Statement Since Sentencing: “I Never Thought What I Was Doing Was Illegal,” ABC News Reports
Former “king of crypto” Sam Bankman-Fried is speaking out following his sentencing last week that saw the FTX founder nab 25 years in prison, telling ABC News in an April 1 interview that he “never thought” his actions were criminal.
“I’m haunted everyday by what was lost,” Bankman-Fried told ABC News. “I never intended to hurt anyone or take anyone’s money. But I was the CEO of FTX, I was responsible for what happened to the company, and when you’re responsible it doesn’t matter why it goes bad.”
During his March 28 sentencing, Bankman-Fried was additionally ordered by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to pay $11 billion in forfeiture for his role in the crypto exchange’s collapse that drained customers of over $8 billion in funds.
“I never thought what I was doing was illegal,” Bankman-Fried continued. “But I tried to hold myself to a high standard, and I certainly didn’t meet that standard.”
The catastrophic losses created by the implosion of FTX itself has left behind a wake of economic disaster for the exchange’s former clients, with prosecutors allegedly receiving over 200 victim impact statements caused by the catastrophe.
“My family and I lost a significant portion of our family savings, which we had planned to use for our children’s education and purchasing our first home in the United States,” one such statement read in part. “We are in a worse position than we ever thought we would be.”
SBF Victims Speak Out — And Their Stories Are Heart-Breaking
Per dozens of court-filed “Victim Impact Statements,” customers of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX are struggling with financial insecurity, skimping on expenses including food, forced to eating ketchup as a meal and living… pic.twitter.com/w0JWbBMdYB
— John Reed Stark
Read more on cryptonews.com
