Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022, the former CEO faced a jury trial and was convicted of seven felony counts and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Lawyers representing former cryptocurrency exchange FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried have filed a long-anticipated appeal for his conviction on seven felony counts and his 25-year prison sentence.
In a Sept. 13 filing in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, SBF’s lawyers filed a 102-page brief claiming that the former FTX CEO was “never presumed innocent,” subject to scrutiny that allegedly affected prosecutors, the presiding judge, and treatment by the media. Bankman-Fried’s legal team announced in April — a few weeks after a federal judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison — that they intended to appeal.
According to the appeal, SBF’s lawyers alleged the jury was “only allowed to see half the picture” with FTX user funds, claiming prosecutors had “presented a false narrative” that the money was permanently lost and Bankman-Fried intentionally caused that loss. They also claimed that counsel for the FTX debtors worked with the US government in a way that was above and beyond “cooperation,” providing information allegedly as an “arm of the prosecution.”
