A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence on June 12, 2026, rejecting every appellate argument his attorneys advanced [1][2][3]. The panel described the government's trial evidence as "conservatively stated, robust," a characterization that forecloses most factual challenges on any further review [1][3].
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 in the Southern District of New York before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy arising from the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded [2][3]. Prosecutors established that he misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds, directing them to his affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, for investments, political donations, and personal expenditures [2]. Judge Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years in March 2024 [1][2]. On appeal, Bankman-Fried's counsel argued, among other points, that Kaplan abused his discretion by limiting the scope of Bankman-Fried's own trial testimony [1][3]. The Second Circuit panel, which included Circuit Judge Barrington Parker, rejected that argument and found the evidentiary rulings within the trial court's discretion [1][3].
The ruling narrows Bankman-Fried's remaining legal options to two paths: a petition for en banc rehearing before the full Second Circuit, or a certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court [2][3]. A presidential pardon represents a non-judicial alternative but would require a separate executive determination. The Second Circuit's unanimous posture, combined with the panel's explicit endorsement of the evidentiary record, makes either appellate path difficult to pursue on the merits.
The FTX collapse in November 2022 erased an estimated $8 billion in customer funds and triggered one of the largest criminal fraud prosecutions in U.S. financial history [2][3]. Several of Bankman-Fried's co-defendants, including former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, cooperated with the government and have already been sentenced [2]. The Second Circuit's decision effectively closes the last major judicial avenue for Bankman-Fried to challenge the conviction, barring a successful Supreme Court petition on a discrete legal question.