Hwang had been convicted in July on 10 criminal charges including wire and securities fraud, market manipulation.Former billionaire investor Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang has been sentenced to 18 years in prison over the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, which cost Wall Street banks more than $10bn.
Hwang was sentenced on Wednesday by United States District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan, where a jury convicted Hwang in July on 10 criminal charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and market manipulation.
“The amount of losses that were caused by your conduct are larger than any other losses I have dealt with,” Hellerstein said before announcing the sentence.
Archegos’s March 2021 implosion took less than a week, stunning Wall Street and Hwang’s lenders.
The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan sought a 21-year prison term for Hwang – unusually long for a white-collar case – and for him to forfeit $12.35bn and make restitution to victims.
“It stands among a rare class of cases that truly could be described as a national calamity,” prosecutor Andrew Thomas said at the sentencing hearing before Hellerstein.
Hellerstein did not reach a decision on Wednesday on whether Hwang must forfeit money or pay restitution. The sentencing hearing is expected to resume on Thursday.
Before sentencing Hwang, Hellerstein asked the defendant’s lawyer, Dani James, how she thought Hwang compared to Sam Bankman-Fried, wh …
