Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s legal team has officially filed an appeal against his conviction and sentencing as the former CEO of FTX. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro submitted a notice to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 11, stating that Bankman-Fried intends to appeal the seven felony counts he was convicted of by a jury, as well as Judge Lewis Kaplan’s 25-year federal prison sentence. This appeal was expected, as it was previously mentioned during the March 28 sentencing hearing.
The filing comes two weeks after Bankman-Fried’s sentencing, during which Judge Kaplan also ordered the forfeiture of $11 billion. On April 8, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers requested that he be allowed to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for the duration of the appeal, rather than being transferred to a federal prison in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The case against Bankman-Fried and his associates began in November 2022, when FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, faced liquidity problems and filed for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas, where the company’s offices were located at the time, and was later extradited to the United States to face fraud charges. In November 2023, he was found guilty of seven felony counts by a jury.
Opinions among affected cryptocurrency users regarding Judge Kaplan’s sentencing are divided. While some argue that 25 years is an inadequate punishment considering the harm caused to thousands of FTX customers by Bankman-Fried, others believe that the prison time could serve as a deterrent to others in the industry.
Bankman-Fried’s appeal will likely be heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where a panel of judges will determine whether to uphold or reverse the decision made in federal court, potentially leading to a new trial. The grounds on which Bankman-Fried will seek an appeal were not specified in Shapiro’s filing.
Sentencing hearings for Bankman-Fried’s associates at FTX and Alameda Research, including Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, are still ongoing. Salame’s sentencing is scheduled for May 28. All four individuals pleaded guilty and reached agreements with prosecutors prior to Bankman-Fried’s trial.