Fraud conviction tied to FTX collapse has been appealed by Sam Bankman-Fried

Federal prosecutors’ “false narrative” during a trial “tainted” by errors led to Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction, according to his attorneys’ latest filing to a federal appeals court on Friday. Bankman-Fried founded the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

As everyone hurried to judgment after FTX’s collapse, defense attorneys stated in the appeal that “fair trial principles were swept away in a ‘Sentence first-verdict afterwards’ tsunami.” “Illogical presumptions never applied to Sam Bankman-Fried. Prior to ever being accused, he was assumed to be guilty.”

The federal prosecutors in New York accused Bankman-Fried of masterminding a plot that brought down the cryptocurrency exchange he established, FTX, and embezzled $8 billion in customer assets. In November of last year, Bankman-Fried was convicted guilty of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.

He is incarcerated for 25 years, a term his lawyers described as “draconian.” The trial judge, Lewis Kaplan, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York were criticized by defense lawyer Alexandra Shapiro in Friday’s appeal, which accused them of being biased and biased. By the media, he was taken to be guilty. The FTX debtor estate and its legal representatives assumed he was guilty. Federal prosecutors hungry for buzzworthy stories assumed he was guilty. The judge who oversaw his trial also assumed he was guilty,” the appeal stated.

Although they did not want to respond, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will provide a formal response. The defense asked for a reversal of Bankman-Fried’s conviction and a new trial before a different judge. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and a blockbuster witness for the prosecution, is set to be sentenced for her role in the fraud later this month.