Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for stealing $8 billion from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan announced the sentence during a hearing in Manhattan court after rejecting Bankman Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money.

Earlier on November 2, a jury found Bankman Fried, 32, guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy stemming from the 2022 collapse of FTX. Prosecutors called the case one of the largest financial frauds in US history.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would recommend that Sam Bankman-Fried not be sent to a maximum security prison because he had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence. SBF’s reputation, connection to his vast fortune and being an autistic person would make him “unusually vulnerable” in prison, Judge Kaplan said. He added that the prison should be as close to the San Francisco Bay Area as possible to facilitate family visits.

The sentence marked the downfall of an ultra-rich businessman and major political donor. Bankman Fried has said he will appeal his conviction and sentence.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said he is not recommending Bankman-Fried be sent to a maximum-security prison because he had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.

The convict’s reputation, connection to his vast fortune and being an autistic person would make him “unusually vulnerable” in prison, he added.

He even suggested that the prison should be as close as possible to the San Francisco Bay Area to facilitate family visits.

Bankman-Freud who founded FTX in 2019, he was one of the most high-profile figures in the cryptocurrency industry, known for his political connections, celebrity relationships, and bailouts of other companies that were struggling to survive. Last November, however, the company filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11 after the misappropriation of customer funds left a multibillion-dollar hole in its books.

Judge Kaplan said Bankman Fried had shown no remorse.

“He knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said before announcing the sentence. “He knew it was criminal. He regrets taking a very bad bet on the possibility of getting caught. But he’s not going to admit anything, as is his right.”

Continuing his analysis of the verdict, Judge Kaplan said that FTX customers lost $8 billion, FTX equity investors lost $1.7 billion, and that lenders in Alameda Research hedge fund founded by Bankman Fried lost $1.3 billion.

“Defendant’s claim that FTX’s customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading, it is logically incorrect, it is speculative,” Kaplan added. “A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a reduced sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole.”