Imprisoned FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed to overturn his fraud conviction, court documents filed Friday show.
The appeal from Bankman-Fried's lawyers argues that he never got a fair trial and should therefore be tried again under a new judge.
"He was presumed guilty—before he was even charged," lawyers for Bankman-Fried wrote.
"He was presumed guilty by the media," the filing continues. "He was presumed guilty by the FTX debtor estate and its lawyers. He was presumed guilty by federal prosecutors eager for quick headlines. And he was presumed guilty by the judge who presided over his trial."
Guilty: Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted of FTX Fraud
A jury of nine women and three men found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of seven fraud and conspiracy charges on Thursday in the former crypto mogul’s high-profile criminal case. Although the jury delivered its verdict today, it could be some time before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan determines Bankman-Fried’s sentence. He faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. "We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result," Bankman-Fried's defense attorney Mark...
The lawyers—Alexandra A.E. Sapiro, Theodore Sampsell-Jones, and Jason A. Driscoll—argued that FTX was never insolvent and in actuality had the billions of dollars to repay customers, despite the liquidity crunch that doomed the platform.
Legal advisors for FTX took over when market conditions shook the exchange (and the entire crypto industry) and pushed it into bankruptcy proceedings, mismanaging it and losing money in the process, Bankman-Fried's defense team further claimed.
The document contends that Bankman-Fried was never able to present his side of the story—that he actually did have the money to pay back customers, but with illiquid investments.
"Bankman-Fried had not lost or stolen all the money, and the investments he made were not risky or stupid," the lawyers added. "FTX faced a liquidity crisis, not a solvency crisis."
Sam Bankman-Fried Didn't Have 'Character of a Thief': Author Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis, author of "Going Infinite", an account of the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, has argued that the disgraced FTX founder didn't have "the character of a thief" in a new The Washington Post article. “His crime was of a piece with his character. The character wasn’t the character of a thief. It was the character of a person numb to risk.” Lewis explained in the final paragraphs of a 4,500 word essay adapted from a new introduction to his book. “Unable to feel risk himself, he can...
FTX was a massive crypto exchange that suddenly collapsed in November 2022, with the initial liquidity crunch giving way to evidence of serious fraud and mismanagement. Bankman-Fried was arrested shortly after, and following a trial, was convicted of fraud last November. He will serve 25 years behind bars.
Bankman-Fried and his team criminally mismanaged the company. FTX's main product was a popular crypto exchange that allowed customers to buy, sell, and bet on the future prices of digital assets. But cash deposited by customers was illegally used by Bankman-Fried and associates to make risky bets via sister investment firm Alameda Research, leading to a quick collapse.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
