MANHATTAN — A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence. Circuit Judge Barrington Parker authored the unanimous appellate opinion.

FTX ceased operations in November 2022. A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Bankman-Fried of two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy in 2023. Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office alleged he stole $8 billion from FTX customers.

Bankman-Fried's defense lawyers had argued that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan improperly restricted evidence intended to show FTX possessed sufficient funds to process customer withdrawals. The appeals court rejected this defense argument, ruling that fraud occurs at the moment of deceptive transfer regardless of intent to repay. Judge Parker wrote, "While he was publicly reassuring customers, investors and regulators that FTX customer funds were safe, he was simultaneously using FTX as his own personal piggy bank, spending customer funds on real estate, political contributions, and investments." He also wrote that "FTX customers were defrauded as soon as Bankman-Fried transferred their money to Alameda regardless of how strongly he believed he might later return the money."

Three former employees of Bankman-Fried pleaded guilty and testified that he directed them to transfer FTX customer funds to cover losses at Alameda Research. Alameda Research is a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund associated with Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges and testified that he did not steal funds while admitting to operational mistakes.

Judge Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried in March 2024. During the sentencing, Judge Kaplan said Bankman-Fried "made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught." He stated that Bankman-Fried committed perjury on the witness stand, characterizing his testimony as evasive. The collapse of FTX resulted in approximately $8 billion in customer losses, $1.7 billion in investor losses, and $1.3 billion in lender losses. Bankman-Fried, who is 34 years old, is incarcerated at a low-security federal prison near Santa Barbara, California, with eligibility for release in 2044.

Oral arguments for the appeal were heard in November 2025. According to the Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, Bankman-Fried is seeking a presidential pardon from President Trump. Bankman-Fried's legal representatives may request a rehearing by all active judges on the 2nd Circuit or petition the U.S. Supreme Court.