Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, has filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence for fraud and conspiracy charges hours before the the deadline to do so.
Bankman-Fried’s move comes amidst the recent surge in FTT, FTX’s native token, which increased by 15%.
Appeals and Market Reaction
SBF’s legal battle began last November when he was convicted on seven counts, including defrauding FTX customers and investors in Alameda Research. Following a month-long trial, the conviction highlighted the collapse of his companies, which had filed for bankruptcy the year before.
Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $11 billion forfeiture. Prosecutors referred to the case as one of the largest financial frauds in history.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan will now review the appeal. However, the odds are stacked against Bankman-Fried in this endeavor.
Statistics reveal that federal criminal defendants have a less than 10% success rate in overturning their convictions through appeals. Should the appeal fail at the 2nd Circuit, Bankman-Fried’s last resort would be petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, amidst the legal drama surrounding FTX’s founder, the cryptocurrency market has responded, with the FTT price surging by 15% to $1.82 following news of the appeal. At the time of writing, FTT is trading at $1.71, a 4% increase in the past 24 hours.
Concern Over SBF’s Future Conduct
During Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing, Judge Lewis Kaplan expressed concern about the potential for him to commit further wrongdoing in the future, stating that he had not shown any remorse for his crimes.
Kaplan characterized Bankman-Fried’s altruistic behavior as insincere, referring to it as an “act.” Despite the sentence being less than what prosecutors sought but more than what Bankman-Fried’s legal team proposed, Kaplan deemed it necessary to prevent similar crimes from occurring in the future.
Bankman-Fried, who has autism, was ordered to be sent to a low or medium-security prison near his parents in Northern California due to the risks associated with his condition. However, he has requested to be housed in the Manhattan Detention Center during his appeal process.
Bankman-Fried’s previous associates and co-conspirators, a few of whom cooperated as witnesses during the trial, have yet to receive their sentences for their fraudulent activities.
Bankman-Fried was apprehended in the Bahamas in November 2022 following the bankruptcy filings of FTX and Alameda. Federal prosecutors have charged him with deliberately misappropriating funds from customers and investors and misleading them about their intended use.
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