Disgraced investor Song Kook “Bill” Hwang was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for fraud and market manipulation in connection with the stunning collapse of Archegos Capital Management.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein announced the ruling in Manhattan federal court months after a jury convicted Huang in July of 10 criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud and market manipulation. . Wall Street banks lost more than $10 billion as a result of Mr. Hwang's scheme.
Although the 18-year sentence was harsh for a white-collar crime, it was shorter than the 21-year sentence sought by prosecutors. Meanwhile, Hwang's lawyer initially did not seek a prison sentence.
Prosecutor Andrew Thomas said at the sentencing hearing: “This is a rare case that is truly a national catastrophe.”
Mr. Huang, 60, was convicted of lying to major banks about his Archegos portfolio to secure billions of dollars he bet on media and technology stocks such as ViacomCBS and Discovery. At its peak, Archegos had $36 billion under management.
The scheme unraveled within days of March 2021, after stakes dropped significantly and Mr. Huang was unable to meet margin calls. The resulting meltdown cost Credit Suisse more than $5 billion and Japanese bank Nomura more than $3 billion.
Prior to sentencing, Hellerstein compared the actions of FTX fraudster Sam Bankman Freed, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing more than $8 billion, to Hwang's attorney Dani James. and asked them to discuss how they felt about their client's actions. A customer of a cryptocurrency company.
“Mr. Bankman Freed was literally stealing from customers,” James said. “I don’t believe that would have happened here.”
Hellerstein told Huang: “The amount of loss caused by your actions is greater than any loss I have dealt with as a judge.” According to Bloomberg.
Hwang's lawyers said his net worth, once considered a billionaire, had fallen to “at most” $55.3 million.
Mr. Hwang's co-defendant in the case, former Archegos chief financial officer Patrick Harrigan, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27. He was found guilty of three criminal charges in the same trial in July.
with post wire
