Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Fraud Conviction, Requests New Trial: NYT

CoinDesk · 2024-09-13T20:13:11.000Z

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has formally appealed his fraud conviction, requesting a new trial and accusing the judge overseeing his case of being unfairly biased against him, according to a report from the New York Times. Last November, a New York jury convicted Bankman-Fried of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of his crypto exchange in November 2022. In March, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for his crimes. In the 102-page appeal filed Friday afternoon, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers argued that Judge Kaplan was unfair to the FTX founder throughout the trial, making “biting comments undermining the defense” and “deriding” his testimony in front of the jury. “Sam Bankman-Fried was never presumed innocent,” his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro wrote in the filing. “He was presumed guilty by the judge who presided over his trial.” The 32-year-old Bankman-Fried's lawyers had suggested a lighter sentence of 6.5 years. The government had sought a much heftier 40-50 years in prison. Several of Bankman-Fried’s closest friends and colleagues – including his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, and Ryan Salame – testified against him during his trial, and pleaded guilty to their own counts of fraud. Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in May. Ellison is set to be sentenced later this month, and has asked for no jail time. Bankman-Fried’s defense, as well as his supposed grounds for appeal, have heavily rested on the customer recovery achieved by the FTX estate. Bankman-Fried has insisted that the collapsed exchange was never actually insolvent, and claimed that he was pushed to file for bankruptcy prematurely by the estate team, including turnaround CEO John J. Ray III and white-shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. In his appeal, Bankman-Fried’s attorney criticized a ruling from Judge Kaplan that blocked Bankman-Fried from claiming in front of the jury that FTX customers had not actually lost any money, because they were expected to get it back in the bankruptcy process. “The government thus presented a false narrative that FTX’s customers, lenders, and investors had permanently lost their money,” Bankman-Fried’s lawyer wrote. “The jury was only allowed to see half the picture.”

O fundador da FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, apelou formalmente de sua condenação por fraude, solicitando um novo julgamento e acusando o juiz que supervisiona seu caso de ser injustamente tendencioso contra ele, de acordo com uma reportagem do New York Times.
Em novembro passado, um júri de Nova York condenou Bankman-Fried por sete acusações de fraude e conspiração relacionadas ao colapso de sua corretora de criptomoedas em novembro de 2022. Em março, o juiz distrital dos EUA Lewis Kaplan do Distrito Sul de Nova York (SDNY) condenou Bankman-Fried a 25 anos de prisão por seus crimes.
No recurso de 102 páginas apresentado na tarde de sexta-feira, os advogados de Bankman-Fried argumentaram que o juiz Kaplan foi injusto com o fundador da FTX durante todo o julgamento, fazendo "comentários mordazes que minaram a defesa" e "ridicularizaram" seu depoimento perante o júri.
“Sam Bankman-Fried nunca foi presumido inocente”, escreveu sua advogada, Alexandra Shapiro, no processo. “Ele foi presumido culpado pelo juiz que presidiu seu julgamento.”
Os advogados de Bankman-Fried, de 32 anos, sugeriram uma sentença mais leve de 6,5 anos. O governo havia buscado uma pena muito mais pesada de 40-50 anos de prisão.
Vários amigos e colegas mais próximos de Bankman-Fried – incluindo sua ex-namorada Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang e Ryan Salame – testemunharam contra ele durante seu julgamento e se declararam culpados de suas próprias acusações de fraude. Salame foi condenado a 7,5 anos de prisão em maio. Ellison deve ser sentenciado no final deste mês e pediu que não fosse preso.
A defesa de Bankman-Fried, bem como seus supostos fundamentos para apelação, têm se apoiado fortemente na recuperação de clientes alcançada pelo espólio da FTX. Bankman-Fried insistiu que a bolsa em colapso nunca foi realmente insolvente e alegou que foi pressionado a pedir falência prematuramente pela equipe do espólio, incluindo o CEO da recuperação John J. Ray III e o escritório de advocacia de alto escalão Sullivan & Cromwell.
Em seu recurso, o advogado de Bankman-Fried criticou uma decisão do juiz Kaplan que impediu Bankman-Fried de alegar perante o júri que os clientes da FTX não haviam realmente perdido dinheiro, porque era esperado que o recuperassem no processo de falência.
“O governo apresentou, portanto, uma narrativa falsa de que os clientes, credores e investidores da FTX perderam seu dinheiro permanentemente”, escreveu o advogado de Bankman-Fried. “O júri só foi autorizado a ver metade do quadro.”

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