Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, escapes prison time for his part in crypto fraud.

• In late 2022, Gary Wang became the fifth former FTX executive to receive punishment for his role in the collapse of the crypto exchange.
• FTX's co-founder and former technology chief, Wang, pleaded guilty to five charges of fraud, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, and securities fraud.
• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried received the harshest sentence of 25 years.

Gary Wang, a co-founder and former technology chief of FTX, was given time served and three years of supervised release on each of the four counts he pleaded guilty to, making him the fifth and final ex-employee of the collapsed crypto exchange to be punished. Additionally, Wang was ordered to forfeit $11 billion, the same amount as the other co-defendants.

Wang, who testified in the trial against his ex-boss Sam Bankman-Fried, could receive a maximum of 50 years in prison for the four criminal charges he admitted to, including conspiring to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and securities fraud.

Wang sought the same sentence as Nishad Singh, who avoided prison time despite being sentenced by Judge Kaplan, citing his immediate cooperation with the government.

FTX customers and investors were deeply sorry to Wang when he had the chance to speak in court.

In his address to the court, Wang admitted to taking the easy path, which he described as cowardly, rather than doing the right thing. He clutched a single printed piece of paper but did not reference it from the podium.

He vowed to spend the rest of his life making amends.

Wang's family, including his wife who is pregnant with their first child, were present in court to back him up.

Wang's attorneys argue that he lacked full knowledge of the crimes committed by FTX and Alameda Research, unlike the other cooperating witnesses, and only learned about the illegal activities after the scheme had already begun.

The government was also seeking leniency for Wang.

Nicolas Roos, the Assistant U.S. Attorney, stated that Wang was the most cooperative witness he had ever worked with, and he attributed Wang's success in solving half of the case to his meticulous unraveling of the complex code used by FTX to remove customer funds from the exchange.

The government has been using an interface built by Wang, who has put his computer programming skills to use in detecting potential fraud in the stock and cryptocurrency markets since testifying against the former FTX CEO.

Wang has been working on a tool for detecting illegal activity in cryptocurrency markets, and if he is sentenced to time served, the Government understands he will complete it as part of his ongoing cooperation.

Wang was the first FTX employee to enter the government's door but the last to be sentenced as the FTX criminal proceedings conclude.

In March, Judge Kaplan handed down the harshest punishment to Bankman-Fried, sentencing him to 25 years in prison and ordering him to pay $11 billion.

In May, Ryan Salame, another former top lieutenant of Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, which exceeded the upper limit recommended by prosecutors. Meanwhile, Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda and the star witness in Bankman-Fried's prosecution, was also sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the crime.

Judge Kaplan, a no-nonsense 78-year-old veteran of the Southern District of New York, has presided over some of the biggest cases to roll through the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan, and all FTX former executives have faced sentencing before him.

"Wang's cooperation was unlike anything Kaplan had ever seen, and he deserved a lot of credit, Kaplan said."