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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The ruling, handed down on June 12, effectively slams the door on the former FTX CEO’s most viable path to freedom.
Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024, had argued his trial was fundamentally unfair. The appellate court disagreed, calling his claims “unpersuasive.”
The appeal that wasn’t
Bankman-Fried’s legal team filed a notice of appeal in April 2024, barely a month after sentencing. A detailed appellate brief followed in September of that year, laying out arguments that Judge Lewis A. Kaplan had imposed unfair evidentiary limitations and committed various procedural errors during the original trial.
Oral arguments took place on November 4, 2025. Judges on the panel expressed skepticism toward Bankman-Fried’s claims even during those proceedings.
The core of the defense’s argument boiled down to this: mistakes were made, but there was no intent to defraud. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers tried to reframe the entire collapse of FTX and its associated hedge fund Alameda Research as a series of unfortunate errors rather than a deliberate scheme to steal customer funds.
The Second Circuit wasn’t buying it. The original trial, which lasted a month in November 2023, produced a guilty verdict on all seven counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit various frauds, and money laundering. The appellate panel saw no reason to disturb any of it.
The pardon play and what’s left
Bankman-Fried submitted a presidential pardon application during the very same week the appellate court issued its ruling.
Bankman-Fried does retain other legal avenues. He could request a rehearing en banc, which would mean the full Second Circuit bench reconsiders the case rather than just a three-judge panel. He could also attempt to take the case to the US Supreme Court.
The numbers behind the collapse
Bankman-Fried was ordered to forfeit over $11 billion following his conviction. That figure reflects the scale of customer funds that were misappropriated and funneled through Alameda Research, the trading firm he also controlled.
The original conviction in November 2023 came after prosecutors presented evidence that Bankman-Fried had directed the commingling of FTX customer deposits with Alameda’s trading operations. The jury deliberated and found him guilty on every single count the government brought.
The 25-year sentence handed down on March 28, 2024, was substantial but fell short of the maximum Bankman-Fried faced. Even so, it ensures that, barring extraordinary intervention, he will be in his early fifties before he’s eligible for release.
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