Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team files an appeal to overturn the 25-year sentence and request a new trial.
On September 13, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of FTX, officially filed an appeal to overturn his fraud conviction after five months in prison. The court documents reveal that his legal team is requesting a new trial, arguing that the initial trial was unfair and biased.
Defense arguments
The defense contends that the collapse of FTX was caused by a liquidity crisis and external market pressures, not fraud. According to the lawyers, FTX was still solvent until November 2022 and had a revenue of $1 billion. The collapse occurred due to a surge in customer withdrawals that triggered the crisis.
The lawyers argue that FTX’s legal advisors drove the company towards bankruptcy by mismanaging billions of dollars and blaming SBF. The defense claims that the founder did not intend to defraud anyone and believed that the loans made by FTX to Alameda were backed by legitimate collateral.
The defense also alleges that the court blocked many pieces of evidence that could have helped reduce SBF’s sentence. For example, the court allegedly did not allow evidence to be presented to the jury showing that FTX had enough assets to reimburse customers within weeks. Instead, the prosecution was permitted to argue that $10 billion had disappeared and that the founder had used the funds for personal use and risky investments.
The defense has also challenged the alleged bias of Judge Lewis Kaplan, requesting that the case be reassigned to a new judge in the event of a new trial. The lawyers cite comments made by Kaplan during the sentencing that, according to them, demonstrate prejudice against their client.
Appeal request
In the appeal, the legal team argues that other former FTX executives had a vested interest in blaming SBF for the collapse of the exchange, thus avoiding responsibility for the mismanagement of the company’s assets. According to the defense, the founder followed legal advice and was unaware of violating any laws.
The request for a new trial with a different judge will now be reviewed by the competent judicial authorities. Meanwhile, the legal process continues, with implications for various executives and the future management of FTX’s remaining assets.
