Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried failed to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence linked to the collapse of FTX, as a three-judge appeals panel rejected his bid for relief.
According to Reuters, the unanimous decision from the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, New York found that the government’s case against Bankman-Fried was, in the words of the court, “conservatively stated, strong”.
Source: toby cunningham
“While he was publicly assuring customers, investors and regulators that FTX customer funds were safe, he was simultaneously using FTX as his personal piggy bank, spending customer funds on real estate, political contributions and investments,” Circuit Judge Barrington Parker wrote.
The decision comes as Bankman-Fried pursues another avenue to challenge his conviction. As Cointelegraph recently reported, he has formally applied for a presidential pardon from US President Donald Trump, with the request appearing on the US Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney website in early June.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the billion-dollar collapse of FTX.
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Bankman-Freed’s clemency bid faces tall odds
In a recent interview with Fox Business, Bankman-Fried said she was “definitely” seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. However, it appears that the former FTX CEO does not have much support from the President.
Trump told The New York Times in January that he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried. A White House spokesperson also declined to comment on the clemency request, referring Bloomberg to the president’s previous comments last week.
Nevertheless, Trump has shown willingness to grant a high-profile pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht shortly after returning to office.
Ulbricht operated the dark web marketplace Silk Road, which used Bitcoin as its primary payment method. He was serving two life sentences plus 40 years before Trump pardoned him in January 2025.
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