In an exclusive interview with ABC News, former crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried expressed remorse for his actions that led to a 25-year prison sentence for fraud last week. Speaking via email from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Bankman-Fried said that the insolvency of FTX, the global cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded and served as CEO, was the result of several "bad decisions" he made in 2022.
"It's most of what I think about each day," Bankman-Fried said, referring to the $8 billion loss suffered by FTX customers when the company imploded in November 2022. "I never thought that what I was doing was illegal. But I tried to hold myself to a high standard, and I certainly didn't meet that standard."
During his sentencing on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried committed perjury in his testimony and was "often evasive," adding that the defendant's remarks never conveyed "a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes." However, Bankman-Fried insisted that he is remorseful, stating, "I've heard and seen the despair, frustration and sense of betrayal from thousands of customers; they deserve to be paid in full, at current price."
Bankman-Fried claimed that customers could have been paid back in November 2022 and that it could and should happen today, calling it "excruciating to see them waiting, day after day." He also said that he "felt the pain" from co-workers as he "threw away what they poured their lives into" and from the charities he supported "as their funding turned into nothing but reputational damage."
"I'm haunted, every day, by what was lost. I never intended to hurt anyone or take anyone's money. But I was the CEO of FTX, I was responsible for what happened to the company, and when you're responsible it doesn't matter why it goes bad. I'd give anything to be able to help repair even part of the damage. I'm doing what I can from prison, but it's deeply frustrating not to be able to do more," Bankman-Fried said.
In his statement to the court on Thursday, Bankman-Fried suggested that had he or another FTX employee remained in place as CEO, customers would have been "paid back long ago." He blamed the company's decision not to restart the FTX exchange, which he said could have potentially led to long-term value, stating, "There are and always have been plenty of assets to repay customers, lenders, and investors in full, at current prices or prices at the time."
Bankman-Fried also hinted that he was not given a fair trial, citing Sullivan & Cromwell's role in the prosecution, the "one-sided media frenzy they incited," and the defense's inability to present critical evidence at trial. A spokesperson for Sullivan & Cromwell referred ABC News to Judge Kaplan's sentencing remarks, in which he said Bankman-Fried had perjured himself on the witness stand and pursued a media strategy of blaming lawyers and the bankruptcy process for investor losses rather than taking responsibility for his crimes.
Looking ahead, Bankman-Fried said his defense team plans to appeal later this year based on certain trial testimony that he claimed "greatly misstated what actually happened" and the fact that his defense was "not allowed to introduce crucial evidence or put on important witnesses," though he did not provide specifics to avoid impacting his defense team's legal strategy.
Following his sentencing, Bankman-Fried said he "lost everything I had to lose," adding, "I'd give anything to be out there, trying to make a positive difference in the world, but I know that's not going to happen. I can't help from prison."
