SBF Faces Sentencing Gap Between Prosecution and Defense as FTX Customers Could Be Made Whole

Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of defrauding FTX customers out of $8 billion, but they may get all their money back through the bankruptcy process. This leaves a gap between the sentence prosecutors want and what SBF's lawyers argue for.

The judge must weigh how much money SBF should be held accountable for - the intended loss argued by prosecutors or the potential actual loss claimed by the defense.

FTX's customers could be made whole thanks to the rising value of assets purchased with their money, like a $500M AI investment. But the bankruptcy team disputes SBF should get credit.

SBF's lawyers suggest he exhibits neurodivergent traits and should be judged accordingly. Prosecutors don't address this and say his privileged background shows he knew what he was doing.

The judge has formed a negative view of SBF, jailing him pre-trial for violating house arrest and finding his trial testimony unconvincing. He has broad latitude in weighing sentencing factors.