Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Conviction, Seeks New Trial

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has filed an appeal seeking a new trial, challenging his conviction on multiple grounds. In the 102-page appeal submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, argues that the trial was unfairly handled and that critical evidence was excluded.

Shapiro stated that Bankman-Fried was considered guilty on bail, not only by the media and federal prosecutors but also by judge Lewis Kaplan. The lawyer pointed out that the jury had this bias, and it influenced the trial in a way that was prejudicial to Bankman-Fried’s side.

Appeal Alleges Bankman-Fried Was Barred from Key Evidence in Trial

FTX co-founder Bankman-Fried was convicted in November of all the criminal charges, of which there were seven, of defrauding customers, lenders, and investors of FTX. The prosecutors painted him as the biggest fraudster of the last ten years, comparing him to Bernie Madoff. He was later apprehended and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In the appeal, Shapiro claims that something ‘less than the whole evidence’ was presented to the jury. To the surprise of Shapiro, the court stated that the guilty intent of Bankman-Fried to steal the customer’s money was immaterial and therefore restricted the jury’s perception of the issue. Additionally, she claims that Bankman-Fried was barred from presenting evidence that FTX and its hedge fund, Alameda, were solvent and from discussing how he had relied on legal advice for certain business decisions.

Shapiro also objects to the prosecution’s presentation of Bankman-Fried’s investments and spending, claiming that the story about money spent on luxury goods and lost capital was unfair. She stated that the investments, such as a $500 million investment in Anthropic and other investments like in Solana, were causing a liquidity problem rather than a solvency one.

The appeal claims that the prosecution lacked evidence and that if Bankman-Fried had his chance in the jury trial, the case against him would have been dismissed. The FTX estate has since regained up to $16.3 billion worth of lost funds, thus obscuring the complete picture of financial ruin.