A letter sent by FTX's current CEO, John Ray III, addressed to Judge Lewis Kaplan, wanted to clear the narrative on the company's downfall and the state Sam Bankman-Fried left it at amidst his appeals for a shorter prison sentence and more.
Here, Ray claimed that Bankman-Fried lied about how he left FTX, particularly with the 'vast' harm he caused customers and investors.
FTX CEO: SBF Caused 'Vast' Harm to Customers, Lied About Funds
FTX CEO John Ray III's letter clarified massive claims from Bankman-Fried to Judge Kaplan, saying that SBF's appeal for a lighter sentence is "callously" and "demonstrably false."
The harm was vast. The remorse is nonexistent. Effective altruism, at least as lived by Samuel Bankman-Fried, was a lie. FTX was run for its very short existence by Mr. Bankman-Fried with hubris, arrogance, and a complete lack of respect for the basic norms of the law, which is all the more inexcusable given his privileged upbringing.
John Ray III
Ray III regarded that when he took over, focusing only on Bitcoin, FTX only had 105 BTCs left on the exchange despite the 100,000 Bitcoin entitlement to customers.
Moreover, the current FTX CEO attests to the stolen funds by SBF, saying that they only recovered some of it, but the rest are still converted into other things by the disgraced co-founder.
Read Also: Sam Bankman-Fried: 'Can't Recall' What He Did at FTX Amidst Cross-Examination
No Solvency on FTX Now, SBF No Remorse For Actions
"Mr. Bankman-Fried continues to live a life of delusion. The "business" he left on November 11, 2022, was neither solvent nor safe," said Ray III. "Vast sums of money were stolen by Mr. Bankman-Fried, and he was rightly convicted by a jury of his peers."
According to the letter, SBF blamed FTX's downfall on other executives and the company's lawyers, not taking accountability for his stint as its leader. Ray III also told Judge Kaplan that Bankman-Fried is not remorseful for his actions.
Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX
After all that has been said and done, Sam Bankman-Fried was recently convicted of his fraudulent crimes. However, there is still a fight in him to reduce his prison sentence.
Bankman-Fried is already scheduled for his sentencing this March 28, and as early as now, it is being recommended that he be given around 40 to 50 years in prison for his crimes.
However, Bankman-Fried and his legal team are not backing down, and they recently appealed to the court to ask for a lighter prison sentence of only 63 months or five to 6 and a half years to serve behind bars.
SBF and his lawyers maintain that he is innocent despite the guilty verdict after his case was presented in court, saying that this reduced sentence is enough for the former executive.
FTX is in the process of retrieving the lost funds, and its goal is to repay the customers and investors whom they defrauded, picking up from Bankman-Fried's actions, which led to the largest crypto exchange's downfall.
However, FTX's John Ray III wants to clarify the severity of his actions to the court, talking about SBF's significant damage to the company and its customers.
