Scaramucci Says 25-Year Prison for Sam Bankman-Fried 'Is a Bit Too Much'

Anthony Scaramucci weighed in on whether disgraced crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried should receive the same clemency recently granted to Changpeng Zhao, after President Donald Trump pardoned the former Binance chief.

What Happened: Speaking with CNBC on Thursday, Scaramucci said Bankman-Fried's punishment may be excessive, even while acknowledging the seriousness of the crimes tied to the collapse of FTX.

Scaramucci, who said he was personally harmed by FTX's downfall, described Bankman-Fried's actions as severe but questioned whether a 25-year prison sentence fits the full context of the case.

"He victimized me and many others and obviously the story is quite famous. The sentence is probably too rough on him but he didn’t take good direction from his legal counsel," Scaramucci said.

Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted on multiple fraud-related charges tied to the implosion of his cryptocurrency exchange. Prosecutors argued that customer funds were misused, contributing to one of the largest financial scandals in crypto history.

Scaramucci suggested Bankman-Fried's legal strategy played a role in the outcome.

Also Read: Anthony Scaramucci On GOP’s View Of Donald Trump: ‘Trump Is A Lame Duck, If You’re Inside His Inner Orbit, You Hate The Guy’s Guts’

“He could have pled out and had a smaller sentence. He decided not to do that and so he’s sitting there with a 25-year sentence. If you’re asking me as a Christian do I think that that sentence is too onerous for him given everything that went down in the aftermath of it, I do,” he added.

While expressing some sympathy, Scaramucci stopped short of calling for a pardon. "I think what Sam did was terrible frankly and probably deserved jail time," he said. "25 years though I think is a bit too much."

Scaramucci contrasted the situation with Zhao's case, noting his own involvement. "I wrote a letter on CZ's behalf and I was very happy for him to be pardoned," he said, suggesting access and relationships played a role.

“I don’t think he’s close to President Trump and I don’t think the people around him have the president’s ear and you know the CZ case is a different case,” he continued.

Scaramucci framed his remarks through a moral lens, saying that while accountability matters, proportional justice should also be considered.

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Image: Shutterstock/lev radin