Across those cases, the FTX conspirators benefited from privileges that most criminal defendants lack, said Seth Goertz, a former federal prosecutor in Arizona. They hired top-tier law firms to mount sophisticated defenses featuring empathetic portraits of their lives, anchored by polished parental testimonies.

“You’re certainly seeing class dynamics in play here,” Mr. Goertz said. “This is not something a defendant who just has access to a public defender could do.”