John Deaton slams calls for leniency in Sam Bankman-Fried case, urges further charges

While some crypto community members believed that Sam Bankman-Fried received an unfair and overly severe sentence, Attorney John Deaton begs to differ.

The former candidate for the US Senate to represent Massachusetts believes Bankman-Fried deserved every year of his punishment and even called for his parents to be charged.

Some claim Bankman-Fried’s 25-year sentence was excessive

One crypto community member sparked a debate over Bankman-Fried’s sentence. In an X post, he pointed out that the FTX founder’s punishment was too harsh. 

He argued that the exchange’s users were being compensated in full plus interest. He continued that the exchange was not entirely bankrupt, and only had liquidity issues. He even believes that the FTX scandal was not a case of deliberate, malicious fraud, but reckless mismanagement fueled by ideologies like utilitarianism and effective altruism.

His comments, however, were not taken lightly, and some criticized him for defending SBF. Nonetheless, the account going by “Zach” clarified that he did not believe the FTX founder was innocent, only that he found a 25-year sentence without parole for mismanagement and poor decisions excessive.

Attorney John Deaton believes SBF’s parents should be in jail

Contrary to Zach, John Deaton claimed that SBF’s sentence was justified, believing he deserved his 25-year sentence.

Deaton even went as far as to say SBF’s parents should have been charged. Responding to Zach’s X post, he remarked, “Not only did he deserve the 25 years, his father, Joe Bankman, and his mother, Barbara Fried, also deserve to be in prison. Even his so-called altruism was fraudulent, proven by evidence submitted at trial in the form of his private messages.”

Deaton added that Bankman-Fried has yet to show any remorse for any of his crimes. Moreover, he argued that the campaign finance fraud charges against SBF should never have been dismissed. He even called for Pam Bondi, Florida’s former Attorney General, to reopen the case.

He asserted that the charges were only dropped because the case involved several elected officials. He claimed SBF even contributed $10 million to the Biden administration, after which the former SEC chair Gary Gensler met with him multiple times.

Nevertheless, some crypto community members believe Sam Bankman-Fried could receive leniency since federal prosecutors and regulators have lessened their grip on crypto cases. Lately, regulators have been paying more attention to crimes linked to crypto assets, leaving the rest in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s hands.

Speaking with commentator and host Tucker Carlson, Bankman-Fried acknowledged that he could stay in jail until his late fifties without any intervention. However, the shifting dynamic in Washington leaves hope that he could be pardoned, as was the case with ex-BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes. 

Bankman-Fried was recently shifted to the low-security Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution. Before that, he was located at the Victorville medium-security facility, a notoriously violent place, according to prison consultant firm Elizabeth Franklin-Best.

Samuel Goldfaden, a partner at the crypto-centric law firm DLT Law, said that while his previous facility was violent, Bankman-Fried had been held in a safer part of the facility.

According to Goldfaden, Sam Bankman-Fried spent most of his detention in the more secure dorm units of MDC Brooklyn, reportedly alongside other high-profile inmates such as Sean P. Diddy to ensure his safety.

Terminal Island, which once housed notorious mobster Al Capone, American criminal and cult leader Charles Manson, and LSD advocate Timothy Leary, currently accommodates over 900 inmates, including other convicted fraudsters like video game entrepreneur Mouli Cohen.

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