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 aid.
The unanimous ruling by the 2nd US Circuit Courtroom of Appeals in Manhattan, New York, discovered that the federal government’s case in opposition to Bankman-Fried was, within the court docket’s phrases, “conservatively said, strong,” in keeping with Reuters.
Supply: Toby Cunningham
“Whereas he was publicly reassuring clients, traders and regulators that FTX buyer funds have 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 just lately 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 Lawyer web site in early June.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2024 after being convicted on fraud and conspiracy fees 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 stated he was “completely” searching for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. Nevertheless, the previous FTX CEO doesn’t seem to have a lot assist from the president.
Trump instructed The New York Instances 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 major cost methodology. He was serving two life sentences plus 40 years earlier than Trump pardoned him in January 2025.
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