Appeals court upholds FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud conviction
A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of cryptocurrency entrepreneur and FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, ruling that the 2023 trial that resulted in his 25-year prison sentence was fair.
In a Friday decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the government’s case was, “conservatively stated, robust.”
A jury found Bankman-Fried defrauded customers and investors of billions of dollars while running FTX, once the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. The court said the evidence showed he reassured customers their funds were safe while secretly transferring billions for personal use and falsifying records to conceal transactions.
“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,” the court wrote.
The panel, which heard arguments in November 2025, rejected claims that trial rulings improperly limited the defense’s evidence. The opinion was written by Judge Barrington D. Parker.
Bankman-Fried, 34, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in 2023 after a rapid rise and collapse in the cryptocurrency industry. FTX advertised during the Super Bowl, and Bankman-Fried testified before Congress while receiving endorsements from Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, and Larry David.
FTX collapsed in November 2022, leaving customers, investors, and lenders short more than $11 billion.
At sentencing, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Bankman-Fried repeatedly committed perjury, calling his testimony “often evasive, hair-splitting, dodging questions.” Kaplan added that possible recoveries did not lessen the losses: customers lost about $8 billion, investors $1.7 billion, and lenders $1.3 billion.
Bankman-Fried had submitted an official pardon application this week through the appropriate government channels at the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
In recent months, he has publicly praised President Trump through various social media platforms. While Trump has granted pardons to several other cryptocurrency industry figures since resuming office, he has indicated no intention to show mercy to the FTX founder.
