Prosecutors ‘Eager for Quick Headlines’ as Sam Bankman-Fried appeals fraud conviction

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has requested a fresh trial, alleging prejudice in his criminal conviction.

On Friday, his defense team contended in a brief filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that federal prosecutors prioritized headlines above justice.

“He was presumed guilty by federal prosecutors eager for quick headlines,” the lawsuit states.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail in March on seven charges of fraud and money laundering linked to the FTX bankruptcy, which attracted worldwide attention.

The collapse of FTX, one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, cost Bankman-Fried billions in client losses.

He was accused of planning a major fraud plot to steal money from FTX consumers to support his hedge fund, Alameda Research.

The case was compared to Enron and Bernie Madoff as one of the worst financial fraud instances in recent years.

In this recent court filing, Bankman-Fried's attorneys claim the trial narrative was false and incomplete.

The petition said that “from day one, the prevailing narrative—initially spun by the lawyers who took over FTX, quickly adopted by their contacts at the U.S. Attorney’s Office—was that Bankman-Fried had stolen billions of dollars of customer funds, driven FTX to insolvency, and caused billions

It also argues that fresh data shows that FTX was never bankrupt and had billions in assets to reimburse clients. Bankman-Fried's lawyers say the jury never viewed this material.


Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and Bankman-Fried collaborator, wants mercy in her imprisonment for FTX's bankruptcy. Her lawyers have asked the court for time served and supervised release instead of jail term.


Ellison's attorneys said in a sentencing brief issued Tuesday that the U.S. Probation Department recommended time served with three years of supervised release for her cooperation.

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