Appeals Court Upholds Sam Bankman-Fried’s Fraud Conviction

Circuit Judge Barrington Parker, writing for the panel, dismantled the defense’s argument that Judge Lewis Kaplan had improperly restricted evidence during the original trial. Bankman-Fried’s legal team had contended that he believed FTX could cover customer withdrawals, but the court ruled that fraud occurs the moment property is obtained through deception. Whether or not a defendant intends to repay victims later is irrelevant to the legal definition of the crime.

Prosecutors successfully argued at trial that Bankman-Fried diverted approximately $8 billion in customer assets to Alameda Research to fund personal real estate, political donations, and risky investments. While Bankman-Fried maintained he was merely guilty of management errors rather than theft, the court found he had repeatedly misled customers and regulators about the security of their assets. With his legal options for a retrial exhausted, Bankman-Fried remains at a low-security prison near Santa Barbara, California, with a scheduled release date in 2044. He continues to pursue a presidential pardon, though President Donald Trump has previously signaled no intention to grant clemency.