By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried on Friday misplaced his bid to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year jail sentence over the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency trade he based.
In a unanimous resolution, a three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals mentioned prosecutors’ proof in opposition to Bankman-Fried “was, conservatively acknowledged, sturdy.”
“Whereas he was publicly reassuring prospects, buyers and regulators that FTX buyer funds have been secure, he was concurrently utilizing FTX as his personal private piggy financial institution, spending buyer funds on actual property, political contributions, and investments,” Circuit Decide Barrington Parker wrote on behalf of the panel.
Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. They could subsequent ask all of the energetic judges on the 2nd Circuit to hear the case, or ask the U.S. Supreme Courtroom to take up the case.
Bankman-Fried can be looking for a pardon from President Donald Trump, in accordance to the Justice Division’s Workplace of the Pardon Legal professional. Neither the White Home nor the Justice Division instantly responded to requests for remark.
‘FRAUD OF EPIC PROPORTIONS’
Bankman-Fried, who had been one of many cryptocurrency sector’s most influential figures and a multibillionaire earlier than FTX’s spectacular collapse in 2022, was discovered responsible on seven felony prices by a federal jury in Manhattan in 2023.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Legal professional’s workplace mentioned he stole $8 billion from FTX prospects to plug losses at his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Analysis, in what they termed a “fraud of epic proportions.”
Bankman-Fried had pleaded not responsible to the 2 counts of fraud and 5 counts of conspiracy that he confronted. At his trial, he admitted to making errors working FTX, however testified that he by no means stole funds.
In interesting the conviction, Bankman-Fried’s protection legal professionals argued that U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the trial, improperly prevented Bankman-Fried from introducing proof to again up his perception that FTX had sufficient funds to cowl buyer withdrawals.
The appeals courtroom disagreed, pointing to authorized precedent holding that fraud happens the second a defendant tips somebody into handing over cash or property, even when the defendant intends to ultimately make the sufferer complete.
“FTX prospects have been defrauded as quickly as Bankman-Fried transferred their cash to Alameda regardless of how strongly he believed he would possibly later return the cash,” Parker wrote.
BANKMAN-FRIED ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE IN 2044
Earlier than FTX collapsed, Bankman-Fried was a rising star within the rough-and-tumble crypto trade who burnished his status with lavish philanthropic and political donations.
At his March 2024 sentencing listening to, Kaplan mentioned Bankman-Fried knew his actions have been flawed however “made a really unhealthy wager in regards to the probability of getting caught.”
Three of Bankman-Fried’s former deputies pleaded responsible over their involvement within the case and testified in opposition to their onetime boss at his trial.
Bankman-Fried is being held at a low-security federal jail close to Santa Barbara, California. He’s eligible for launch in 2044.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Enhancing by Chizu Nomiyama)
