Sam Bankman-Fried seeks new trial over FTX fraud case

Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) lawyers are set to argue before a U.S. appeals court that the FTX founder was denied a fair trial.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team will reportedly appear before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 4, seeking to argue that his conviction should be overturned. According to a recent Reuters report, the defense claims the trial judge improperly blocked evidence showing FTX had enough assets to meet customer withdrawals, a key argument they say could have influenced the jury’s decision.

Since being found guilty on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in November 2023, the now 33-year-old has continued to deny any wrongdoing, claiming that FTX’s collapse was the result of mismanagement and market panic rather than deliberate fraud. 

Following his sentencing, the disgraced CEO’s legal team doubled that he was “never presumed innocent,” insisting that his trial was unfair and based on a false narrative of permanently lost customer funds. The appeal now comes as the former FTX chief continues his efforts to reframe his role in the exchange’s collapse.

Inside SBF’s appeal: Solvency, manipulation claims, and other defense tactics

Just days ago, Bankman-Fried’s official X account posted a 15-page document titled “FTX: Where Did The Money Go?,” reigniting his claim that FTX was never insolvent. The report argued the exchange held sufficient assets at the time of its 2022 bankruptcy filing, including billions in crypto and stakes in firms such as Anthropic, Robinhood, and SpaceX.

The document also repeated claims that FTX’s Chapter 11 process was manipulated by external legal counsel and that valuable recovery efforts were sidelined. SBF accused Sullivan & Cromwell and current CEO John Ray III of seizing control of the exchange against his will and prioritizing legal fees over customer outcomes.

His defense appears to be leaning on these arguments to support his appeal and seek a possible overturn of his conviction. Still, the scale of the FTX collapse as one of the largest in crypto history, weighs heavily against him. At the same time, damaging testimonies from former executives, including Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, have also reinforced the prosecution’s case, making a reversal unlikely.

Meanwhile, the former CEO is also reported to be eyeing a potential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump, following the pardons of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in January and, more recently, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, suggesting that he is exploring various pathways to freedom. 

For now, SBF continues to serve his 25-year prison sentence. Whether his appeal and ongoing efforts can shorten his projected 2044 release remains to be seen.