Sam Bankman-Fried's mea culpa: Read disgraced FTX founder's statement to court ... trends now
Addressing the court for a final time before he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried veered between contrition and defiance.
The former tech prodigy spoke for 20 minutes, claiming the collapse of his crypto trading company 'haunts me every day.'
In the rambling address, Bankman-Fried paid tribute to his former colleagues at FTX - many of whom testified against him - who ‘poured themselves into the company for years then watched me throw away everything they’d built.’
He said: ‘A lot of people feel really 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, things I shouldn’t have.’
Bankman-Fried spoke for 20 minutes during his sentencing hearing, claiming the collapse of his crypto trading company 'haunts me every day,' He is pictured in a sketch from a February hearing
In the rambling address, Bankman-Fried paid tribute to his former colleagues at FTX - many of whom testified against him. He is pictured in jail
Bankman-Fried apologized to his colleagues and investors who were hurt by the scheme. Pictured: Bankman-Fried in February 2023
His parents have supported their son through the trial and arrived at court for the sentencing on Thursday
When he stood up to address the court, Bankman-Fried seemed nervous, wrapping his arms around his body and shifting his weight.
His hair had grown long in between the trial and the sentencing, but he was clean-shaven.
Seemingly fearful about the soon-to-be delivered sentence, Bankman-Fried said: 'My useful life is probably over. It´s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.'
He added: ‘I don’t know that the most important thing here today is my emotional life or my hypothetical future kids.’
Bankman-Fried claimed that the collapse of FTX ‘haunts me every day’ and said: ‘I made a series of bad decision. They werent’ selfish decisions, they were bad decisions. Those culminated with a bunch of other factors.'
'It's been
