SBF argues that users have not incurred losses, John Ray: only 105 bitcoins left when taking over FTX
As FTX founder SBF's sentencing approaches, lawyers on both sides engage in a cunning debate.
Federal prosecutors advocate for a 40 to 50-year imprisonment for FTX founder SBF.
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SBF Lawyer: Users Have Never Incurred Losses
According to legal documents, SBF's lawyer opposed the severe sentencing recommendation of 50 years of imprisonment by the U.S. federal prosecutors last week.
The lawyer made several arguments, stating that the proposed judgment by the government was unsettling and that the prosecutors took a medieval punitive view, akin to a sentence of imprisonment until death.
The documents also displayed clear hostility and distorted facts to highlight a narrative of losses for FTX users, painting SBF as a super villain.
The lawyer stated:
The fact is that users have never incurred losses, with zero harm to customers, lenders, and investors, as the assets have always been there. Each FTX user will receive compensation equivalent to every dollar, plus interest. The judge should consider a maximum of 6.5 years of imprisonment.
The restructuring team has something to say about this.
Reorganization Figure John Ray: FTX Was Down to Last 105 Bitcoins
According to CoinDesk report, FTX's current CEO John Ray strongly refuted SBF's lawyer's claims, emphasizing that the assertion of zero losses and being able to fully pay off is absolutely incorrect.
John Ray stated that when he took over, FTX was left with only 105 Bitcoins, while customer claims were nearly 100,000 Bitcoins, and certain assets like those bribed to Chinese officials by SBF could never be recovered.
The ability to fully repay is now solely due to price increases and the tens of thousands of hours spent by the bankruptcy team, there is absolutely no such thing as "no need to file for bankruptcy."
John Ray pointed out that many FTX users are still very dissatisfied with the valuation of claims, but with SBF committing massive fraud, user assets can never return to the level of currency they could have achieved today.