Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Sentence as FTX Repayment Plans Unfold

The disgraced founder of the ill-fated FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is challenging the prison sentence. Recently, SBF filed an appeal notice challenging the 25-year jail sentence.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed his conviction and 25-year prison sentence for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his defunct cryptocurrency exchange ⤵️ https://t.co/wVpxNaLv9R

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 12, 2024

Notably, this appeal comes amid efforts by FTX to repay customers who lost their investments during the Bankman-Fried era.   

SBF Files Appeal to Upturn Prison Sentence as FTX Scrambles for Settlement Solutions   

On March 28, a Federal Court sentenced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for defrauding billions from customers through his crypto exchange. However, SBF has appealed his conviction to upturn the prison sentence. 

SBF’s legal team, Muskasey Young LLP, submitted the appeal notice to the court. They requested that their client stay in New York while the appeal continues. 

Recall that Judge Lewis Kaplan, in the initial sentence, ordered that SBF be held in a low or medium-security prison. Based on the judge’s orders, SBF was remanded in California to be close to his parents. 

According to Muskasey Young, Bankman-Fried requests that the Court issue an order recommending that the Bureau of Prisons allow him to remain at the Brooklyn detention center until the appeal proceedings are finalized. 

This electronic appeal was officially sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals (USCA). A three-judge panel from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan will review the case following standard procedure.  

Despite the ongoing legal saga with SBF, FTX has continued to pursue its plans to settle the fraud victims. FTX sold around 30 million locked SOL tokens for nearly $1.9 billion at a 60% discount. This sale was made in an effort to repay customers who lost their assets to the SBF-led scam.   

According to EasyCrypto, FTX still holds around 11 million SOL after the sale. Although FTX has no relaunch plans, its present management continues to seek ways to fully repay customers. 

🔘 And finally as mentioned earlier…. the FTX estate sold 30 million of its locked up SOL tokens at a hefty discount with the average price paid being $64. In doing so they raised 1.9bn. They reportedly have around 11 million SOL left. Staying with Solana, the surge in volumes…

— Easy Crypto (@easycrypto) April 10, 2024

Experts Believe SBF Has Slim Chance of Overturning Conviction 

According to legal experts, upholding SBF’s appeal will be challenging given the victims’ struggles and the federal court ruling. It is difficult for criminal defendants to change a federal court’s decision.   

According to statistics, such reversal occurs in less than 10% of similar appeals. So, if Sam Bankman-Fried loses his appeal at the Second Circuit, he must petition the U.S. Supreme Court.  

Commenting on Bankman-Fried’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the ex-CEO orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history. The SBF-masterminded fraud cost over $8 billion in customer funds.

According to Williams, SBF’s deliberate and ongoing lies disrespect its customers and the rule of law. So, the scale of his crime is not just measured by the amount of money he stole but the harm he caused victims. 

In conclusion, Attorney Williams stated that the sentence would prevent the defendant (SBF) from ever committing fraud.