FTX’s Gary Wang spared prison time in fraud case

Gary Wang, the last of FTX’s executives to be sentenced, will serve no prison time after aiding prosecutors in decyphering Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent empire.

U.S. Senior Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled to save Wang from jail as FTX’s court case concluded two years after the defunct crypto exchange collapsed.

According to prosecutors, Wang was the first of Bankman-Fried’s deputies to contact authorities in 2022. Wang pleaded guilty to fraud allegation in December, weeks after SBF’s exchange tumbled.

Judge Kaplan added that Wang’s cooperation was exemplary, adding that he had never seen such aid from an insider before, per Inner City Press. The court’s verdict issued a three-year supervised release, meaning Wang would essentially be free on parole.

Gary Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried became friends at a high school math summer long before co-founding two crypto giants. Wang crafted code to support Alameda Research’s trading operations and eventually served as chief technology officer at FTX.

Wang disputed several of Bankman-Fried’s decisions at both companies. Federal prosecutors citing multiple witness testimonies said that SBF often vetoed choices despite Wang’s reservations.

FTX’s co-founder would later help government investigators trace commingled assets and embezzled money throughout Bankman-Fried’s group of companies. Wang also testified at the SBF’s fraud trial and exposed the illegal privileges afforded to Alameda Research at the expense of customer funds.

While Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud in court and appealed his 25-year jail sentence, his inner circle all signed plea deals for reduced time. In September, former Alameda co-CEO Caroline Ellison was issued a two-year jail term. 

Ex-FTX digital Market co-CEO Ryan Salame started serving his 7.5-year sentence last month. One-time FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh received a similar ruling to Wang’s – no prison time with three years of supervised release.