Key facts
- Sam Bankman-Fried has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn his 2023 fraud conviction.
- He is also seeking to reverse an $11 billion forfeiture order.
- His lawyers argue that the trial judge excluded evidence of sound investments that could have covered FTX customer losses.
- They also contend the $11 billion forfeiture violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines.
- A 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld his conviction and 25-year sentence on June 12.
- Bankman-Fried has also applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
Sam Bankman-Fried has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the fraud conviction that led to his 25-year prison sentence, according to a petition filed Thursday. The FTX founder's lawyers argue that the trial court should have allowed evidence showing that FTX customers were ultimately repaid with interest, and that sufficient assets were available to cover their losses. They also contend that the $11 billion forfeiture order constitutes a "crushing fine" that breaches the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on excessive fines.
The petition follows a June 12 decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Bankman-Fried's conviction and sentence. Prosecutors, however, reject the framing that customers were not harmed, stating he led a scheme to defraud customers by misappropriating billions of dollars, regardless of eventual repayments through the bankruptcy plan. The case also involved $1.7 billion defrauded from investors and $1.3 billion from Alameda lenders.
Bankman-Fried is also pursuing clemency from President Donald Trump, having applied for a pardon. The Senate unanimously opposed clemency for Bankman-Fried in July. He founded FTX in 2019, and it collapsed in November 2022 amid reports of customer funds being used to cover losses at his trading firm, Alameda Research. He was arrested in December 2022 and convicted in 2023.