Sam Bankman-Fried's Appeal Rejected, Prison Sentence Upheld

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried failed to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence tied to the collapse of FTX after a three-judge appeals panel rejected his bid for relief.

The unanimous ruling by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, New York, found that the government’s case against Bankman-Fried was, in the court’s words, “conservatively stated, robust,” according to Reuters.

“While he ‌was publicly reassuring customers, investors and regulators ‌that FTX customer funds were safe, he was simultaneously using FTX as his own personal piggy bank, spending customer funds ⁠on real estate, ⁠political contributions, and investments,” wrote Circuit Judge Barrington Parker.

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 Office of the Pardon Attorney website in early June.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 after being convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the multibillion-dollar collapse of FTX.

Bankman-Fried’s pardon bid faces long odds

In a recent interview with Fox Business, Bankman-Fried said he was “absolutely” seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. However, the former FTX CEO does not appear to 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 last week to the president’s earlier remarks.

Still, Trump has shown a willingness to grant high-profile pardons, including one for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht shortly after returning to office.

Ulbricht operated the dark web marketplace Silk Road, which used Bitcoin as a primary payment method. He was serving two life sentences plus 40 years before Trump pardoned him in January 2025.