FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the fraud conviction that resulted in a 25-year prison sentence, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.
Bankman-Fried's lawyers argue that the trial court should have permitted evidence demonstrating that no FTX customer lost money. The petition states there were "always more than enough assets available to repay customers (as they now have been repaid, with substantial interest)," and calls Supreme Court review "urgently necessary."
The petition arrives after a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit upheld the conviction in June. The Supreme Court grants and hears oral arguments in approximately 1% of cases filed each term, and review is discretionary.
Justice Department's Position
Prosecutors reject the defense framing. The Justice Department characterized Bankman-Fried's actions at sentencing as leading a scheme to defraud FTX customers by "misappropriating billions of dollars of those customers' funds," regardless of eventual repayment. The same case encompassed $1.7 billion allegedly defrauded from FTX investors and $1.3 billion from Alameda lenders.
Forfeiture Challenge
The petition also challenges an $11 billion forfeiture order as a "crushing fine" that violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on excessive fines.
Other Legal Avenues
Bankman-Fried is pursuing multiple paths to overturn his conviction. He applied to President Donald Trump for clemency in June, with the Office of the Pardon Attorney listing the request as pending. Trump stated in January that he would not consider a pardon. The Senate voted unanimously against clemency in July.
Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019, building it to a $32 billion valuation through stadium naming rights and celebrity endorsements. The exchange collapsed in November 2022 following reports that customer funds had covered losses at his trading firm Alameda Research. He was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022 and convicted after a month-long trial in Manhattan the following year.
