The U.S. DOJ has submitted 52 victims’ statements to the Attorney’s Office, as Sam Bankman-Fried is scheduled for sentencing on Thursday.
The statements revealed the emotional and financial distress of numerous victims. A former member of the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC) discloses a personal claim of $4 million.
FTX’s collapse took all of the victim’s life savings and forced his resignation due to his inability to sustain a no-income period. The former UCC member expresses a loss beyond finances, describing that the incident had forced him into critical depression.
The victim details how FTX’s collapse disrupted his home life, negatively impacting his marital bond and lifestyle. He argues for valuing assets based on their worth today, not just their value at the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing.
A Spanish investor describes the betrayal felt after investing savings with dreams of entrepreneurship. FTX’s high-profile advertising drew in this victim, but ultimately, the collapse shattered his plans for a future business.
An Italian victim went through her ‘worst nightmare,’ as she previously held funds in Celsius. She moved her funds to FTX, considering the exchange a safer choice. Following the collapse, she went into severe mental trauma, which ultimately impacted her marriage life. She calls for compensation based on current market values and criticizes the legal proceedings for insufficiently addressing victims’ needs.
The victim statements reveal the depth of emotional and mental impact caused by Sam Bankman-Fried, with each statement reflecting on how the incident drove them into depression and affected their family lives.
However, there might be some relief for the victims, as the exchange recently sold its shares in AI firm Anthropic for $884 million. For now, the victims expect Judge Lewis Kaplan to consider their stories when sentencing Sam Bankman-Fried and the Federal Court to reconsider their approach to reimbursement.