Collins J. Okoth
The co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of the collapsed FTX exchange, Gary Wang, pleaded with the court in a November sentencing submission to consider not giving him a prison sentence for his contribution to the FTX collapse. In the November 6 filing, Wang’s legal team explained that Wang remained an important contributor to securing evidence against the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Gary Wang’s legal team disclosed that the former exec came forward less than a week after the exchange collapsed to provide information to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Wang became the first witness to testify during the case against FTX and Alameda Research.
Awaiting a hearing on November 20,Wang could be the fourth to be sentenced in the FTX case. Sam Bankman-Fried was the first to be sentenced in March this year, getting 25 years in prison. Caroline Ellison and Ryan Salame got 2 years and 7.5 years, respectively.
The collapsed exchange and Alameda Research have been estimated to have siphoned over $10 billion from unsuspecting customers. All executives except SBF have pled to different counts of crypto fraud. Singh is the only one who has escaped jail so far, with the court mentioning his lack of knowledge about the exchange’s illegal undertakings.
Wang’s legal team argues personal reasons for the request
The sentence filing revealed personal reasons that led to Wang’s request. The filing divulged that the former executive was expecting his first child with his wife later this month.
Wang’s lawyers also revealed that he is working as a software engineer for an undisclosed company, which fends for his family. Adding that imprisonment would limit Wang’s ability to provide for his family.
Beyond that, Wang has been helping the government and prosecutors, by creating fraud detection tools for public markets. Additionally, he is also allegedly creating tools focused on detecting illicit activity on cryptocurrency exchanges. The lawyers argued that imprisonment would halt Wang’s contribution to the government and prosecutors.
Sam Bankman-Fried appeals his sentence
In September, SBF’s legal team filed an appeal against Judge Kaplan’s March ruling, saying the former FTX CEO did not receive a fair trial. The filing also appealed for a new trial under a new judge. The lawyers further explained that the court and outside parties assumed SBF guilty even before charging him.
“He was presumed guilty by the FTX debtor estate and its lawyers….by federal prosecutors eager for quick headlines….. by the judge who presided over his trial.”
– SBF Legal Team
The lawyers revealed that the exchange and Alameda Research were never insolvent and had billions to pay back their customers. They also argued that the only reason behind the FTX collapse was a lack of liquidity.
According to the filing, FTX lawyers took over during the 2022 crypto winter and pushed the exchange to file for bankruptcy. However, the FTX legal team allegedly misappropriated funds, leading to losses. The 102-page appeal also combats the court’s decision for SBF to forfeit his money.
