On July 16, 2024, US Judge Kevin Castel signed a document that reduced Virgil Griffith’s prison sentence from 63 months to 56 months.
The prison term of former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has been reduced by seven months. He was supposed to serve 63 months, after being sentenced in April 2022 and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
Griffith was charged by the prosecutor after he traveled to North Korea in 2019, where he gave a presentation and revealed technical knowledge of using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.
On July 16, 2024, US Judge Kevin Castel signed a document that reduced Virgil Griffith’s prison sentence from 63 months to 56 months. The judge noted that there wasn’t much need to protect the public from Griffith. However, the judge also admitted that Griffith had some disciplinary problems while in prison. He said:
“The need to protect the public from further crimes of this defendant has somewhat dissipated, although the Court does note the defendant’s ‘rule infractions’ while in BOP [Bureau of Prisons] custody.”
The judge also considered the difficult experiences Virgil Griffith had while in prison. However, the judge said that Griffith still needed to be punished fairly, that the law should be respected, and that his sentence should discourage others from committing similar crimes. For these reasons, the judge decided not to reduce Griffith’s sentence significantly. Judge Kevin Stated:
“The Court also takes note of the significant hardships the defendant has experienced while incarcerated. The need to impose just punishment for this serious offense, to promote respect for law, and to deter others from committing similar crimes, however, tilts against a substantial sentence reduction.”
Just before his trial started, Virgil Griffith pleaded guilty to breaking the sanctions laws in 2021. The prosecutors said Griffith knowingly gave information that could help North Korea avoid the sanctions. Griffith’s legal team argued for a shorter sentence, stating that their client had never broken any law before and that his actions did not cause anyone financial problems.
Griffith’s Disciplinary Issues in Prison
The former Ethereum developer was noted to have committed multiple rule violations while in prison, such as an attempt to steal soap and tea while in Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan. The prosecutor mounted on his attitude as they stated that he has no respect for the prison rule and, as such, his case should not be addressed with leniency.
Similarly, Griffith was missing out during a prison cell count, a prison rule break; his legal team defended him by explaining that after two days, their client was assigned to a cell, and his cellmate asked him to leave. Thus, to avoid a problem that might have put him in the Special Housing Unit, Griffith told his prison officer about the situation.
Griffith’s legal team revealed that the officer had to move him to a different location until the paperwork for his permanent move was completed. However, during a count of the prisoners, Griffith was not in his assigned cell, which meant he broke another Bureau of Prisons rule. With his sentence reduced to 56 months, Virgil Griffith could be released by January 2025. The new ruling will start on August 2.
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