Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
There are a lot of differences between Changpeng Zhao and Sam Bankman-Fried, and now we can add one more to the list: the amount of time they’ll serve for their crimes. Bankman-Fried got 25 years; Zhao got four months.
There’s more. Zhao appeared in court in a tailored navy suit with a light blue tie when he spoke in his own defense. Bankman-Fried was shackled and in prison garb.
Bankman-Fried defrauded people, pleaded not guilty, repeatedly perjured himself in court, got convicted on seven counts, and then gave an absolutely bizarre speech during his own sentencing hearing that made the judge think he’d be likely to re-offend. (This is to say nothing of his pretrial antics.) By contrast, Zhao pleaded guilty in a deal with the government…