Jurors heard that as he rose to fame, the California native stole billions financially ruined hundreds of thousands of people, many who were not of means. Among the A-list celebrities to endorse FTX as the “safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto” were supermodel Gisele Bundchen, comedian Larry David, and sports stars Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry and Naomi Osaka.

In a 20-minute, sometimes rambling statement to the court, Bankman-Fried said he agreed with “most” of what Kavuri said and recognized he had put his victims through the hell of losing all their money and the gains they’d believed they made through his trading platform.

“And what matters also is the colleagues I had at FTX, who poured themselves into the company for years and then watched me throw away everything they had built. I know a lot of people felt very let down and they were very let down. I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage. Things I should have done and said and things I shouldn’t have. At the end of the day, I failed everyone I care about and everything,” he said.

“It’s been excruciating to watch all of this unfold in slow motion. Customers don’t deserve any of that pain, and I, I was — I was the CEO of FTX ... That means that I was responsible for what happened to it, at the end of the day.”

The feds had asked Kaplan to sentence Bankman-Fried to 40 to 50 years, while probation officials had recommended 100.

Assistant U.S Attorney Nicolas Roos told the court Bankman-Fried wasn’t a monster, but greedy and “someone who committed gravely serious crimes that affected hundreds of thousands or more” around the world “in indescribable ways.”

“There’s a real possibility that given the opportunity, (he’d) consider doing it again,” Roos said.

In a statement, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Bankman-Fried’s “deliberate and ongoing lies demonstrated a brazen disregard for customers’ expectations and disrespect for the rule of law, all so that he could secretly use his customers’ money to expand his own power and influence.”

“The scale of his crimes is measured not just by the amount of money that was stolen, but by the extraordinary harm caused to victims, who in some cases had their life savings wiped out overnight,” Williams said.

Kaplan said his decision did not mean to undermine the brazenness of his crimes and apparent lack of remorse. In fact, Kaplan determined Bankman-Fried had perjured himself three times when he took the stand at the monthlong trial.

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