Sam Bankman-Fried’s appeal rejected, sentence upheld
6.9 Regulation Sam Bankman-Fried’s appeal of his fraud conviction and 25-year sentence was rejected by a federal court, which upheld the original verdict and found no reversible errors in the trial.
Sam Bankman-Fried has lost his appeal to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. On June 12, 2026, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld his 2023 conviction on seven felony counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy. Bankman-Fried's defense argued that the trial judge unfairly excluded evidence suggesting FTX was solvent and that he was prevented from presenting a full defense. Prosecutors countered with testimony and evidence showing that Bankman-Fried directed the misuse of billions in customer funds to cover losses at Alameda Research. The appellate judges found the evidence against him robust and were not persuaded by claims of an unfair trial or judicial bias. This ruling exhausts Bankman-Fried's primary direct appeal options, leaving his conviction and sentence in place.
