Famous Wall Street personalities who were sentenced to prison

WASHINGTON – Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang was found guilty of fraud and other charges in a criminal trial in New York on July 10 after his $36 billion (Singapore dollars 48.6 billion) private investment firm collapsed in 2021.

Hwang, who pleaded not guilty, faces 20 years in prison for each of the charges, with sentencing to be announced at a later date.

Here’s a look at other famous Wall Street figures who have been sentenced to prison.

Bernard Madoff

Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 to running the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, estimated to be worth $64.8 billion. For decades, Madoff presented himself as a successful and trustworthy Wall Street boss, attracting high-profile and celebrity investors while committing fraud in secret.

Madoff died in 2021 at the age of 82 while serving a 150-year prison sentence.

Sam Bankman Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March for stealing $8 billion from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange – a dramatic downfall for the former billionaire wunderkind.

Although FTX, based in the Bahamas, was not a traditional Wall Street firm, prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of old-fashioned financial fraud: using client assets to buy luxury real estate, prop up his hedge fund and make political donations.

Bankman-Fried appealed his conviction and prison sentence in April.

Jordan Belfort

Belfort lived a lavish, hedonistic lifestyle before he was arrested for defrauding investors of as much as $200 million through his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in 1999 and spent 22 months in prison.

Belfort is now a motivational speaker and media commentator and offers sales consulting services.

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese explored Belfort’s downfall in the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” based on Belfort’s memoir and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ivan Boesky

Boesky, who served as the inspiration for the character of the money-hungry Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film “Wall Street,” spent nearly two years in prison for his role in one of Wall Street’s biggest insider trading scandals of the 1980s.

Boesky, known as “Ivan the Terrible,” speculated in takeover stocks and said he bought shares after formal takeover bids were announced. His fortune is estimated at $280 million. But authorities said the man known for the “greed is good” ideology received tips from investment bankers about deals in the pipeline and used them illegally.

Boesky pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 1987 and received a reduced sentence because he cooperated with prosecutors investigating insider trading and junk bond kingpin Michael Milken. Boesky died in May at age 87.

Michael Milken

Milken, known as the junk bond king, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1990 after pleading guilty to securities violations, including his dealings with Boesky. Milken spent less than two years behind bars after a federal judge reduced his sentence as a reward for his cooperation with authorities.

In 1991, Milken co-founded the nonprofit Milken Institute, which focuses on cancer, public health and aging research. Milken himself survived advanced prostate cancer. Every year, financial giants flock to the Milken Institute Global Conference, where fund managers court potential investors and charities seek funding opportunities.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Milken in 2020. REUTERS