The post The First Step Act may not apply to SBF or Ryan Salame appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

While Protos, along with other media outlets, was quick to point out that the Donald Trump-era law the ‘First Step Act’ could be a road to early release for Sam Bankman-Fried, Ryan Salame, and other first-time, nonviolent offenders, it turns out that the law is less about ‘the letter of the law’ than it is about a judge’s discretion. Indeed, if we take a look at a previous example of a massive financial fraudster attempting to use the act to get early release, it seems incredibly unlikely that Bankman-Fried or Salame can expect to have a significant amount of time shaved off their sentences. What is the First Step Act? Though it’s been repeatedly discussed, it’s worth going over some of the minutiae of the First Step Act. The main point of contention regarding the act is that inmates can, possibly, get out of prison in half of the time they’ve been sentenced to. However, it’s important to note that there are many caveats. First of all, while a former federal prosecutor told CNN that Bankman-Fried could possibly shave 12.5 years off his sentence, it’s simply not clear that’s true. Buried within the details of the bill is a section that describes ineligible prisoners, specifically “Section 1030(a)(1), relating to fraud and related activity in connection with computers.” Bankman-Fried was found guilty of wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud, all seemingly revolving around computers and his trading. This doesn’t mean that he can’t take any time off his sentence whatsoever: federal prisoners are still eligible to take off over 50 days a year if they involve themselves with programs to reduce recidivism and don’t cause problems while incarcerated. In this sense, Bankman-Fried will likely be able to knock a few years off of his 25-year sentence. No matter how you…

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Filed under: News - @ June 7, 2024 6:24 pm