Sam Bankman-Fried Loses Appeal, Seeks Presidential Pardon
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- A federal appeals court upheld Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction in a ruling issued Friday, June 12, 2026, ending his bid to overturn the 2023 jury verdict.
- Sam Bankman-Fried, 34, submitted an application for a presidential pardon the same week as the appellate ruling, his remaining avenue for relief after the appeal failed.
- Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison sentence imposed in 2024 after a jury found him guilty on all seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
- Federal prosecutors described the scheme as "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history," saying Bankman-Fried diverted customer deposits to cover losses at his hedge fund, repay loans, and buy real estate.
- A federal judge in April had already denied Bankman-Fried's request for a new trial, rejecting his claim that newly discovered witnesses would offer exculpatory testimony.
- The court ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11 billion, a fund the government can use to compensate victims of the FTX collapse.
Why it matters: With his appeal rejected, Bankman-Fried's remaining avenue for relief is the presidential pardon application he filed the same week. The $11 billion forfeiture order gives the government a direct mechanism to compensate FTX victims, and the 34-year-old founder now faces decades more behind bars on his 25-year sentence.
