Image source, Reuters

Sam Bankman-Fried stood in front of the jury with his hands clasped as the verdict was read in November last year.

His parents sat with their heads in their hands. The jury found him guilty of lying to investors and lenders and stealing billions of dollars from FTX, helping to precipitate its collapse.

He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, maintaining that, while he had made mistakes, he had acted in good faith.

Three of his former close friends and colleagues, including his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him in hopes of reducing their own sentences.

During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Bankman-Fried's crypto trading firm Alameda Research received deposits on behalf of FTX customers from the early days of the exchange, when traditional banks were unwilling to let it open an account.

Instead of safeguarding those funds, as Bankman-Fried repeatedly pledged to do in public, he used the money to repay Alameda lenders, buy property and make investments and political donations.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, Supplied

Arush Sehgal and his wife had $4m on the exchange, half of it in Bitcoin and half in dollars, deposited as the family planned for a house purchase.

He said the collapse of the firm had hurt their relationship, and cost him a job, as he became consumed in efforts to try to recover the money.

The tech entrepreneur had worked in the industry helping to build similar platforms.

“The everyday person might think that it’s just a big mistake… but in actual fact, if you know how these things work… there’s no way that this wasn’t fraud,” he told the BBC.

He said the judge should stick to the sentencing guidelines. “You can’t have everything you’ve worked for and saved your whole life taken from you,” he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Barbara Fried and Allan Joseph Bankman have arrived at the New York court where their son is expected to be sentenced later today.

Sam Bankman-Fried's parents, both law professors at Stanford Law School, were central fixtures at their son's trial back in October last year.

During difficult portions of the trial, his mother fought back tears.

The pair were often seen sitting in the third row of the courtroom, within a close distance of their firstborn child.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, Supplied

I spoke to several former FTX customers about what they thought Bankman-Fried deserved ahead of the sentencing.

They said they were more focused on what would happen to their money than to him, but were sceptical of calls for leniency, no matter how much they had at stake.

For example, Rick Norwood, a retired accountant from Florida, had deposited $1,000 (£790) on FTX a few months before its collapse. Norwood said potentially losing the money was not personally devastating, but that he was mindful of the ways financial disruption can wreak havoc and that others might be more affected.

"Whatever they throw at him, he deserves," he said.

"I don't have any sympathy for him whatsoever."

Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear from the two sides - defence and prosecution - who will make their case for why their recommendation should win the day - that could take several hours.

Much of the debate is focussed on the scale of the crime. In court filings, prosecutors said Bankman-Fried had committed “one of the largest financial frauds in history, and what is likely the largest fraud in the last decade”, taking more than $8bn in customer funds for his own purposes.

SBF’s team have argued that customers are poised to recover significant sums.

It’s rare that there is such wide disagreement about the scale of the crime in question, but Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman told the BBC the debate was a bit “academic” because other questions – such as how this compares to other cases – often carry more weight in sentencing decisions.

After the two sides make their case, Bankman-Fried and potentially others will have the opportunity speak.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, EPA

Bankman-Fried was convicted in November of multiple counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, commodities fraud and securities fraud.

Prosecutors said he lied to investors and banks and stole more than $8bn from FTX customers, taking funds deposited on the exchange and using them to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments.

He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, maintaining that, while he had made mistakes, he had acted in good faith.

The jury returned their verdict within hours last year, a sign that the government made a slam-dunk case.

Tom Gerken
Technology reporter

At one point, FTX was seemingly on top of the world, with more than a million customers and celebrity endorsements from tennis great Naomi Osaka to comedy icon Larry David.

Sam Bankman-Fried - also known as SBF - appeared at events with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton.

But then questions started to be asked about the links between FTX and Bankman-Fried’s other business, Alameda.

The Securities and Exchange Commission became involved. Major crypto firm Binance offered and then withdrew a bailout, and suggested there might be irregularities in how customer funds had been handled.

FTX entered a death spiral.

With no way to pay its debts, FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 - but it was discovered that $8bn in customer funds were missing.

Bankman-Fried was arrested, and later found guilty of fraud and money laundering following a month-long trial.

The "Crypto King’s" downfall was complete. Today, he - and the world - will find out what his punishment will be.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing.

The former billionaire, who was known as the Crypto King only a few years ago, faces decades behind bars for fraud and conspiracy.

The spectacular implosion of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX cost customers billions of dollars and sent shockwaves through global financial markets.

Last year, it took a New York jury less than five hours to find Bankman-Fried guilty of stealing billions of dollars and lying to investors.

Today, Judge Lewis Kaplan will decide what punishment fits the crimes.

Our reporters Natalie Sherman and Erin Delmore are at the courthouse to bring us the latest details as they happen.