Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year jail sentence tied to the collapse of FTX after a three-judge appeals panel rejected his bid for reduction.
The unanimous ruling by the 2nd US Circuit Court docket of Appeals in Manhattan, New York, discovered that the federal government’s case towards Bankman-Fried was, within the courtroom’s phrases, “conservatively acknowledged, sturdy,” in keeping with Reuters.
Supply: Toby Cunningham
“Whereas he was publicly reassuring clients, buyers and regulators that FTX buyer funds had been protected, he was concurrently utilizing FTX as his personal private piggy financial institution, spending buyer funds on actual property, political contributions, and investments,” wrote Circuit Decide Barrington Parker.
The choice comes as Bankman-Fried pursues one other avenue to problem his conviction. As Cointelegraph not too long ago reported, he has formally utilized for a presidential pardon from US President Donald Trump, with the request showing on the US Division of Justice Workplace of the Pardon Legal professional web site in early June.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2024 after being convicted on fraud and conspiracy expenses stemming from the multibillion-dollar collapse of FTX.
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Bankman-Fried’s pardon bid faces lengthy odds
In a current interview with Fox Enterprise, Bankman-Fried mentioned he was “completely” in search of a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. Nonetheless, the previous FTX CEO doesn’t seem to have a lot help from the president.
Trump advised The New York Occasions in January that he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried. A White Home spokesperson additionally declined to touch upon the clemency request, referring Bloomberg final week to the president’s earlier remarks.
Nonetheless, Trump has proven a willingness to grant high-profile pardons, together with one for Silk Highway founder Ross Ulbricht shortly after returning to workplace.
Ulbricht operated the darkish net market Silk Highway, which used Bitcoin as a main fee technique. He was serving two life sentences plus 40 years earlier than Trump pardoned him in January 2025.
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