Sam Bankman-Fried appeals conviction and sentencing

calico 04/11/2024

Leeza Garber reacts to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s 25-year prison sentence and $11.2 billion fine on ‘Making Money.’

FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is appealing both his conviction and 25-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of defrauding investors and customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.

Attorneys for the former billionaire filed the appeal Thursday, along with a notice requesting that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan allow Bankman-Fried to remain at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center while he prepares to appeal in Manhattan federal court.

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Sam Bankman-Fried leaves court in New York City on Jan. 3, 2023. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

Kaplan, who oversaw Bankman-Fried’s trial and handed down the fallen crypto king’s sentence, previously recommended the former FTX CEO serve his time behind bars in San Francisco.

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In November, a jury found Bankman-Fried guilty on all charges related to the collapse of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in the first of two criminal trials against the former CEO.

Sam Bankman-Fried speaks at the Institute of International Finance annual membership meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 2022. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg / Getty Images)

Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried, who founded and controlled both FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research, of misappropriating and embezzling billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits, scheming to mislead investors, and instructing other executives at his businesses to do the same.

Kaplan sentenced the FTX founder to 25 years in prison in March. Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 40 to 50 years. In an interview this month, Bankman-Fried told ABC News, “I never thought that what I was doing was illegal.”