FTX CEO John J. Ray III, who is representing the creditors seeking billions in restitution from the defunct crypto trading firm, submitted on their behalf a victims' statement to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ahead of Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing on March 28, 2024. Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of defrauding investors.
Ray did not mince words, poking holes in the sentencing submission given by Bankman-Fried in which he claimed FTX debtors made false claims. Ray describes in his letter how his team was handed a "dumpster fire" to reorganize.
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During congressional testimony in 2022 ahead of Bankman-Fried's conviction, Ray revealed a massive lapse of corporate governance at FTX overseen by Bankman-Fried himself, which included the co-mingling of funds with sister company Alameda Research.
John Ray speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing investigating the collapse of FTX in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried, whose net worth was over $20 billion, before the FTX collapse, is banking on the rebound of bitcoin. It has risen to nearly $70,000 from the $15,000 level. It's unclear how or if a bitcoin bounce could play a role in a lighter sentence should more victims get their money back.