Former FTX CTO Gary Wang Spared Prison Time For Cooperating With Prosecutors

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Former FTX chief technology officer and close friend of Sam Bankman-Fried, Gary Wang, won’t have to serve prison time for his involvement in the crypto exchange’s fraud scheme. Wang is the final cooperating member of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to be sentenced.  

Notably, Wang pled guilty to four criminal counts in December 2022, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.

“You immediately did the right thing,” Judge Lewis Kaplan stated on Wednesday, addressing Wang. “You are entitled to a world of credit.” 

Kaplan, who presided over the entire FTX case revealed that due to his extensive cooperation with the U.S. prosecutors in putting Bankman-Fried behind bars, Wang has avoided prison time.

Kaplan noted that while Wang does bear some responsibility for his role in the crimes, however, his culpability was minimal compared to other defendants. He emphasized that ‘Life is a balance and cooperation should be rewarded’. 

Notably, Wang is one of two key cooperating witnesses in Bankman Fried’s trial, alongside former Alameda Research CEO and Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison.

Wang was the last FTX executive to be sentenced after Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison in September. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, was also spared prison time in October. The harshest sentence was received by Ryan Salame, who is spending seven and a half years in prison for campaign finance fraud.

Wang, in a statement before his sentencing, said he was “deeply sorry” for his role in FTX’s fraud. “There are so many things I could have done differently,” he said.

The prosecutors noted that Wang’s assistance was not only instrumental in their case against Bankman-Fried but it will also help bring down more criminals in the future. 

“Wang has built an interface that the Government has begun using for detecting potential fraud by publicly traded companies,” prosecutors wrote in a Nov. 13 note to the court. Should Wang avoid jail time, prosecutors stated that he agreed to continue working on an additional tool for detection of potential illegal activity in cryptocurrency markets.