The former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently facing bankruptcy, has filed an appeal against his conviction for fraud and has requested a new trial.
In his appeal, Bankman-Fried asserts that he was assumed guilty by various parties, including the media, the FTX debtor estate and its lawyers, federal prosecutors, and even the judge presiding over his trial.
Bankman-Fried, the founder of the popular cryptocurrency exchange FTX and sister trading firm Alameda Research, was accused of mismanaging the company, which led to its sudden collapse in November 2022.
According to federal prosecutors, Bankman-Fried allegedly misused billions of dollars of customer funds deposited with FTX, defrauded investors in FTX of over $1.7 billion, and defrauded lenders to Alameda of more than $1.3 billion.
After a monthlong trial, Bankman-Fried was found guilty on multiple charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
As punishment, he has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, will be under supervised release for three years, and is required to pay $11 billion in restitution.
In his defense, Bankman-Fried’s legal team argued that FTX faced a liquidity crisis rather than a solvency crisis, accusing Judge Lewis Kaplan of barring the introduction of evidence regarding solvency while allowing the prosecutors to present evidence of loss. They also claimed that the judge consistently ridiculed the defendant, criticized his demeanor, and displayed skepticism towards his testimony.
NTD reached out to the U.S. Attorneys Office for comment but has not received an immediate response.
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