4 ms·

This is a win-win for everyone since it will also let SBF start serving his sentence early.

swores 3y ago
If he considered starting serving time early a win for himself then he could've chosen not to be bailed. Therefore I don't see how you can call it a win for him if it's not what he wants.
- danielfoster 3y ago
  He’ll be grateful to have some credit for time served once he’s sentenced.
  - wmf 3y ago
    Six weeks won't do much against 100 years.
    - School-Cotton 3y ago
      Do people really get life sentences for crimes that don’t involve causing death or physical harm to others?
      - dpkirchner 3y ago
        Madoff did, but I only know that because it was remarkable enough to be big news.
      - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
        Three-strikes lifers exist, yes -- a system where your most recent crime is punished as an extension of a previous crime, even if the time was served. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle
      - hnfong 3y ago
        Scamming and embarrassing the American Elite seems to be pretty serious crimes over there...
      - fastball 3y ago
        Federal sentencing guidelines take into account many things. You get (bad) points (called levels) for how many people you harmed, dollar value of the harm, whether or not you used "sophisticated" means, etc, etc. These points are then converted to a sentence length according to this[1] chart. The main contributor in a case like this is going to be the dollar amount of the fraud (which is huge), as those points stack up quickly, capping out at 30 levels for a fraud of over $550M. So if as assume he gets the highest level, that's 30 levels on its own, which if you read the guideline chart linked means a recommended sentence of 8 years for a first time offender just from those levels alone. Add all the other levels in and you can get to 43 (life imprisonment for first time offenders) pretty quickly. [1] https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2021/Sentencing_Table.svg https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manu...
bemusedthrow75 3y ago
The possible Sam Bankman-Fried who thinks this is a win-win is not the one in our universe. [0] Our universe's Sam Bankman-Fried has been caught witness-tampering, which you only do if you think you are going to get away with it. Being caught witness-tampering is going to lead to an early start to his jail time, yes. But you understand that it's going to lead to additional jail time, right? It's a crime and a really serious one. It will be seen as aggravating behaviour, so extra time, perhaps extra charges, not a head-start. Edit to add: it's entirely possible in a legal sense for the primary charges against him to collapse entirely and for him to still see extra time, not just time served, for witness tampering. Because witness tampering is a crime even if what the witnesses saw turns out to be something the state declines to prosecute. [0] unless he is both sorely misinformed and poorly advised
- DonHopkins 3y ago
  Good thing Trump's openly tampering with witnesses, because if there's any justice it'll land him in jail sooner and keep him there as long as necessary for him to never be free again.
  - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
    Trivia: the judge in the SBF case is the judge who heard E. Jean Carroll’s civil case against Trump, where Trump made things worse for himself by continuing to defame Carroll after he was found liable.

If he considered starting serving time early a win for himself then he could've chosen not to be bailed. Therefore I don't see how you can call it a win for him if it's not what he wants.

danielfoster 3y ago
He’ll be grateful to have some credit for time served once he’s sentenced.
- wmf 3y ago
  Six weeks won't do much against 100 years.
  - School-Cotton 3y ago
    Do people really get life sentences for crimes that don’t involve causing death or physical harm to others?
    - dpkirchner 3y ago
      Madoff did, but I only know that because it was remarkable enough to be big news.
    - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
      Three-strikes lifers exist, yes -- a system where your most recent crime is punished as an extension of a previous crime, even if the time was served. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle
    - hnfong 3y ago
      Scamming and embarrassing the American Elite seems to be pretty serious crimes over there...
    - fastball 3y ago
      Federal sentencing guidelines take into account many things. You get (bad) points (called levels) for how many people you harmed, dollar value of the harm, whether or not you used "sophisticated" means, etc, etc. These points are then converted to a sentence length according to this[1] chart. The main contributor in a case like this is going to be the dollar amount of the fraud (which is huge), as those points stack up quickly, capping out at 30 levels for a fraud of over $550M. So if as assume he gets the highest level, that's 30 levels on its own, which if you read the guideline chart linked means a recommended sentence of 8 years for a first time offender just from those levels alone. Add all the other levels in and you can get to 43 (life imprisonment for first time offenders) pretty quickly. [1] https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2021/Sentencing_Table.svg https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manu...

bemusedthrow75 3y ago

The possible Sam Bankman-Fried who thinks this is a win-win is not the one in our universe. [0] Our universe's Sam Bankman-Fried has been caught witness-tampering, which you only do if you think you are going to get away with it. Being caught witness-tampering is going to lead to an early start to his jail time, yes. But you understand that it's going to lead to additional jail time, right? It's a crime and a really serious one. It will be seen as aggravating behaviour, so extra time, perhaps extra charges, not a head-start. Edit to add: it's entirely possible in a legal sense for the primary charges against him to collapse entirely and for him to still see extra time, not just time served, for witness tampering. Because witness tampering is a crime even if what the witnesses saw turns out to be something the state declines to prosecute. [0] unless he is both sorely misinformed and poorly advised

DonHopkins 3y ago
Good thing Trump's openly tampering with witnesses, because if there's any justice it'll land him in jail sooner and keep him there as long as necessary for him to never be free again.
- bemusedthrow75 3y ago
  Trivia: the judge in the SBF case is the judge who heard E. Jean Carroll’s civil case against Trump, where Trump made things worse for himself by continuing to defame Carroll after he was found liable.