Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn his fraud conviction, which resulted in a 25-year prison sentence. The legal team argues that the trial court prevented the defense from demonstrating that FTX customers did not ultimately lose money, claiming assets were sufficient for repayment with interest.
The Justice Department maintains that Bankman-Fried orchestrated a scheme to misappropriate billions in customer funds. Prosecutors noted that the case involved $1.7 billion defrauded from investors and $1.3 billion from Alameda lenders. The petition also challenges the $11 billion forfeiture, labeling it an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment.
Bankman-Fried is simultaneously pursuing a presidential pardon. He submitted a request to Donald Trump in June, though the President stated in January that he would not consider it. The U.S. Senate also voted unanimously against granting him clemency in July. Bankman-Fried previously donated nearly $40 million during the 2021-2022 election cycle.
FTX was founded in 2019 and reached a valuation of $32 billion before collapsing in November 2022. Following the liquidity crisis, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022. A Manhattan trial led to his conviction, which a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit upheld in June.
