Sam Bankman-Fried demands new trial over FTX fraud verdict

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

According
to
the
New
York
Times,
Bankman-Fried

appealed
a
November
2023
court

ruling
that
found
the
FTX
founder
guilty
of
defrauding
investors
of
over
$8
billion.

His
new
lawyer,
Alexandra
A.E.
Shapiro,
argued
that
Judge
Kaplan,
the
presiding
judge,
presumed
Bankman-Fried
guilty
from
the
start.
The
102-page
filing
requested
a
new
trial,
claiming
Judge
Kaplan
hindered
Bankman-Fried’s
defense
and
limited
evidence.

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

Since
his
trial
in
Manhattan,
FTX’s
former
CEO
has
maintained
a
semblance
of
innocence,
insisting
he
never
intended
to
siphon
billions
of
customer
funds
or
conceal
the
firm’s
financial
health
from
investors
and
regulators.

Other
FTX
executives
who
signed
plea
deals,
like
former
Alameda
CEO
Caroline
Ellison
and
Ryan
Salame,
also
face
prison
time.
Ellison’s
lawyers

pushed
for
a
supervised
release
while
Salame

tussled
with
Justice
Department
prosecutors
over
campaign
finance
probes
on
his
partner.

Nearly
two
years
after
FTX’s
collapse,
related
litigation
is
advancing
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
it
may

contest
FTX’s
plans
to
repay
creditors
using
stablecoins
in
its
bankruptcy
proceedings.