FTX co-founder and key witness Gary Wang asks judge for no jail time

As a researcher with a keen interest in the intersection of technology and law, I find myself intrigued by the case of Gary Wang, the former co-founder and technology chief of FTX. His sentencing memo, filed in a Manhattan district court, presents an interesting perspective on his role in the FTX saga.

As Gary Wang, the co-creator of FTX and previously its tech mastermind, I’ve appealed to a federal judge for leniency in sentencing, emphasizing my crucial role in bringing my fellow co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, to justice.

According to a sentencing memo submitted on November 6th to a Manhattan district court, Wang requested that his jail time be considered sufficient, as his testimony during the trial played a crucial role in the government’s successful prosecution of Bankman-Fried. This individual was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 25 years in prison in April.

Additionally, Wang claimed that he had a relatively small part in the alleged $10 billion scam involving FTX’s customers compared to Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Nishad Singh, a previous engineering director at FTX. Both Ellison and Singh pleaded guilty to the government and testified against Sam Bankman-Fried.

On November 20th, Judge Lewis Kaplan will be handing down a sentence for Wang, who agreed with prosecutors to plead guilty to fraud and criminal conspiracy charges. Previously, Judge Kaplan sentenced Ellison to two years in prison in September, while last month he allowed Singh to avoid jail time by giving him credit for time served.

Wang contended that imposing a prison sentence on him would result in an unfair difference in sentencing compared to Singh, and it would disregard his level of involvement and exceptional cooperation during the investigation.

FTX co-founder and key witness Gary Wang asks judge for no jail time

Among those closely associated with Bankman-Fried, he was among the first to converse with U.S. prosecutors regarding a potential plea bargain and disclose details about FTX’s operational systems. Later, he also provided information to the bankruptcy administration and class-action lawsuit parties.

At Bankman-Fried’s trial, Wang served as a crucial witness and explained that his co-founder instructed him to modify FTX’s programming, enabling Alameda, the exchange’s affiliated hedge fund, to secretly siphon and trade client funds for an extended period before the scam was exposed in 2022.

According to Wang’s memo, he stated that he wasn’t fully aware of the criminal activities, and he discovered them only after they had already progressed significantly. He claimed that he was misled and deceived about these matters by Sam Bankman-Fried.

Apart from that, he argued that going to prison could interfere with his role in helping the prosecution and providing for his family financially. He mentioned that he holds a job as a software engineer and is set to become a father of a newborn son with his long-term partner and now wife within this month.

Wang stated that he’s collaborated with the government in developing software for identifying financial irregularities in public markets. Authorities have requested him to create a tool specifically designed for detecting illegal activities within cryptocurrency trading platforms.

The memo states that Gary aspires fervently to excel as a dedicated spouse, parent, and further his role in collaborating with the Government and other partners for the betterment of FTX victims’ restoration, as well as reducing the likelihood of future deceptions.

In September, Bankman-Fried contested his 25-year prison term, stating that he was never assumed innocent throughout the proceedings. He also asserted that FTX had sufficient resources to compensate customers, which, according to him, was information the jury at his trial did not have access to during their deliberations.

2024-11-07 08:47

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