Two men pleaded guilty in the same month. One walked out of prison after four months and received a presidential pardon. The other is serving 25 years and just had his clemency bid all but rejected.
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, is making sure everyone understands why those outcomes are different. CZ has publicly labeled Sam Bankman-Fried’s actions at FTX as one of the biggest frauds in history, emphasizing that the case involved billions of dollars stolen from millions of people.
Two guilty pleas, two very different crimes
Both CZ and SBF entered guilty pleas in November 2023. CZ pleaded guilty to a single count of violating anti-money laundering laws. No fraud charges. No identified victims. His punishment included a $50 million personal fine, a $4.3 billion settlement for Binance over compliance failures, and a four-month prison sentence that he completed in September 2024.
SBF was convicted on multiple fraud and conspiracy counts related to the misappropriation of billions of dollars in FTX customer funds. In March 2024, a judge handed him a 25-year sentence. The collapse of FTX in late 2022 wiped out savings for countless retail investors who trusted the platform with their deposits.
