Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his fraud conviction and the accompanying $11 billion forfeiture order. The petition challenges the 25-year sentence and seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering returned against him in 2023.
Bankman-Fried co-founded FTX, once among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally. The exchange collapsed in November 2022, exposing an $8 billion shortfall in customer accounts.
Two Arguments in One Filing
The Supreme Court petition makes two separate challenges. First, Bankman-Fried's legal team argues that the trial court improperly barred him from presenting evidence that FTX and Alameda Research, while temporarily illiquid, held sufficient assets to eventually make customers and investors whole.
Second, they contend the $11 billion forfeiture order violates the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause. Success on either argument could be significant, and together they could potentially unwind what has been described as the single largest fraud judgment in crypto history.
The Supreme Court Precedent
The petition hinges on a 2025 Supreme Court decision, Kousisis v. United States, which established that conduct can constitute wire fraud even without intent to cause net economic harm. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Bankman-Fried's conviction in June 2026, relying on this ruling.
Bankman-Fried's team argues that if prosecutors do not need to prove economic loss to win a fraud conviction, then evidence of economic loss should not be admissible at trial. However, if such evidence is permitted, the defense must be allowed to present contradictory evidence.
Previous Attempts Exhausted
This Supreme Court petition represents Bankman-Fried's latest legal avenue after other routes failed. He submitted a presidential pardon application in June, requesting a pardon after completion of sentence. President Donald Trump publicly rejected the idea twice, citing the scale of the fraud. The U.S. Senate then unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution opposing any pardon or commutation for Bankman-Fried. Additionally, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion for a new trial in April.
What Comes Next
The Supreme Court receives thousands of certiorari petitions each term and grants roughly 1%. Four of the nine justices must vote to grant review. The court is expected to decide later in 2026 whether to take the case. If certiorari is denied, the conviction, sentence, and forfeiture all stand, effectively exhausting Bankman-Fried's direct appeals.
Meanwhile, the FTX estate has progressed independently. Cumulative distributions to creditors since early 2025 approach $10 billion, with U.S. customer claims reaching 105% cumulative recovery. Claims are valued at November 2022 petition-date prices, when bitcoin traded near $16,000.
