Sam Bankman-Fried demands new trial over FTX fraud verdict

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed his 25-year prison sentence following a five-week trial late last year.

Bankman-Fried has appealed a November 2023 court ruling that the FTX founder defrauded investors of more than $8 billion, the New York Times reported.

Her new attorney, Alexandra A. E. Shapiro, argued that Judge Kaplan, the presiding judge, assumed Bankman-Fried was guilty from the start. The 102-page filing requested a new trial, alleging that Judge Kaplan obstructed Bankman-Fried’s defense and limited evidence.

Bankman-Fried, once a cryptocurrency mogul and billionaire, has been serving a 25-year sentence in a federal prison since last year.

FTX’s former CEO has maintained his innocence since his Manhattan trial, claiming he never intended to embezzle billions of dollars in customer funds or hide the company’s financial situation from investors and regulators.

Other FTX executives who signed the deals, including former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and Ryan Salame, also face prison sentences. Salame has battled Justice Department prosecutors over campaign finance investigations into his partner, while Ellison’s lawyers have pressed for probation.

Nearly two years after the collapse of FTX, related lawsuits are moving forward on multiple fronts. The defunct exchange, its sister company Alameda and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reached a court-approved $12.7 billion settlement agreement last month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also indicated that it may object to FTX’s plans to pay creditors using stablecoins during the bankruptcy process.