On November 20, 2024, Gary Wang, a former executive of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, New York City. ) attended his sentencing on fraud charges.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
FTX co-founder and former technology executive Gary Wang was sentenced on Wednesday to serve time and three years of supervised release on each of the four counts he pleaded guilty to, becoming the fifth and fourth person to join the failed cryptocurrency exchange. The last former employee was punished. Like other co-defendants, Mr. Wang was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion.
Wang testified in the trial of his former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, who pleaded guilty to four criminal counts punishable by up to 50 years in prison, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire transfer Fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, successfully avoided jail after being sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan last monthWang sought the same sentence, citing his almost immediate cooperation with the government.
When given the opportunity to address the court, Wang said he was deeply sorry to all of FTX’s customers and investors.
“I took the easy way out, the cowardly way, instead of doing the right thing,” Wang said in a brief speech in court, holding a printed piece of paper he never quoted from the podium.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making up for this,” he added.
Wang’s parents and his wife, who is expecting their first child, were in court to support him.
Wang’s lawyers said that unlike other cooperating witnesses, he did not have full knowledge of the crimes and did not know that FTX’s sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, was receiving client funds until well into the scheme.
The government is also seeking clemency for Wang.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos, who called Wang the most cooperative witness he had ever worked with, credited Wang with essentially deciphering half of the case for the government by carefully unraveling the complex codes used by FTX that allowed Customer funds were stolen.
In sentencing materials, prosecutors added that since testifying against the former FTX CEO, Wang “has directed his extraordinary computer programming skills to detecting potential fraud in the stock and cryptocurrency markets” and establishing a government-initiated The interface used is designed to detect potential fraud in listed companies.
Additionally, “Wang has also been developing a tool for detecting potential illegal activity in the cryptocurrency market, which the government understands he will complete as part of its ongoing cooperation if Wang is sentenced to serve a period of time in prison.”
Roos also pointed out that as FTX’s criminal proceedings are coming to an end, Wang is the first FTX employee to walk through the government door and the last to be sentenced.
March, Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 years in prison Prison and ordered to pay $11 billion – the harshest punishment Judge Kaplan has ever handed down.
Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison is a star witness in the Bankman-Fried prosecution and is Bankman-Fried’s ex. girlfriend, who was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the crime. and Ryan Salame, another former Lt. Bankman-Friedwas Sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May —Exceeding the limit recommended by prosecutors.
All former FTX executives face Judge Kaplan’s sentence. The no-nonsense 78-year-old judge is a senior judge in the Southern District of New York and has hosted Some of the largest cases will be heard at the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan.
“I’ve never seen anything like what happened here,” Kaplan said of Wang’s collaboration. “You’re entitled to a lot of credit.”
