A federal appeals court has upheld Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction and 25-year sentence, rejecting his claims of potential customer reimbursements.
Overview
- The Second Circuit Court confirmed Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction and 25-year sentence.
- The court found his claims about FTX's ability to repay customers unconvincing, categorizing his actions as fraud.
- With the appeal denied, a presidential pardon remains his sole path to freedom.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and co-founder of FTX, has lost his appeal against a 25-year prison sentence for fraud, as a panel of judges from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction. The ruling was unanimous and delivered on Friday.
The court scrutinized Bankman-Fried’s defense and dismissed it, stating that the evidence presented during his trial was substantial. According to the judges, the government’s case was "robust," making his arguments ineffective.
In 2023, a Manhattan jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of seven counts related to fraud and conspiracy, leading to his sentencing in a California federal prison.
Bankman-Fried’s appeal primarily relied on the assertion that despite misappropriating FTX funds for various purposes, including covering losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and making political donations, the company could still have repaid its debts. The court rejected this argument, referencing a 2025 Supreme Court decision that fraud is established whenever a defendant uses significant misrepresentations to deceive victims, regardless of the victims' financial outcome. Bankman-Fried was found to have altered records to obscure the misuse of customer funds.
The judges pointed out that he did not contest the reality of these transactions or the corresponding altered documents. They remarked, "Bankman-Fried does not meaningfully contest the substantial evidence the government marshalled at trial."
As he seeks ways to reduce his sentence, Bankman-Fried has recently expressed support for President Donald Trump on social media, perhaps hoping to gain a pardon. However, Trump has previously indicated he is unlikely to grant clemency to him, despite having pardoned other figures in the cryptocurrency space.
