Sam Bankman-Fried appeals his 25-year sentence over the FTX Collapse, citing judicial bias and procedural errors that allegedly caused a wrongful fraud conviction.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried officially appealed his 25-year prison sentence. According to Bloomberg, his defense contends the conviction came about after a mob mentality. They say he was “presumed guilty” well before any charges were made. This perceived bias, they argue, denied him a fair trial. The appeal is against the media pressure, prosecutors and the trial court itself.

FTX Founder Seeks to Overturn Fraud Verdict

The lawsuit directly addresses US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. The defense claims that Judge Kaplan showed clear bias during the trial proceedings. The defense says the judge “constantly mocked” the defense counsel. This action was said to have displayed a lack of belief in the testimony of the defendant before the jury. Thus, they would like the court to throw “a thumb on the scale” of justice.

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Besides, the legal argument itself is about the unfairness of the procedure. The defendants were deprived of the opportunity to produce important evidence of their solvency. According to some, this evidence indicated that FTX had sufficient liquid assets to cover each and every customer. This testimony was improperly excluded and thus denied Bankman-Fried the opportunity to defend himself.

The filing also attacked the court’s ruling of an unprecedented “free preview.” In particular, the unique nature of this judicial proceeding meant first that Bankman-Fried was compelled to testify outside the jury’s hearing. His team says this gave prosecutors a massive and unfair advantage in cross-examining him. Therefore, his defense was unable to use his right to give his personal account fully.

Court convicted of seven serious federal counts in 2023. He was accused first of misappropriating more than $8 billion in customer funds. These funds were used to pay for trading losses and the buying of many properties. As a result, the firm’s dramatic downfall sent major financial shockwaves across the globe in late 2022.

The defense argues he was acting in good faith and was relying on his own FTX lawyers. However, he was controversially stopped from giving testimony concerning this key professional legal advice.

Appeal Strategy Hinges on Judicial Conduct and Fairness

The appeal is based on a single ground – alleged procedural unfairness. It is not about his known business failures and errors. Finally, the defense will need to prove that there was a judicial abuse of discretion or a violation of constitutional rights. They are requesting that the conviction be completely reversed.

Legal scholars warn that the defense has a very “uphill battle” ahead. However, the defense is making a demand for a fresh trial. This new trial should be presided over by a different court. They allege that the judge had a bias, which then played a part in leading the jury to make a judgment of guilt.

There are extremely high legal standards for reversal to be met by appeals courts. As a result, the appeal process requires very technical legal arguments and prima facie proofs of error. Bankman-Fried is now serving his sentence at the FCI Terminal Island facility. This is a low security prison in California.

The latest appeal hearing in New York, however, was not mandatory for him to attend. The decision of the court on the issue is now awaited in the coming months. In short, the appeal is based on restrictions from Judge Kaplan’s decisions in his courtroom.

The complaint strongly claims that there was a substantial amount of public prejudice against him, which was formed due to external negative media pressure. As a result, this overwhelmingly negative atmosphere was a major factor in the quick “rush to judgment.” This, they say, led to an erroneous conviction for the FTX co-founder.

The post Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals 25-Year Prison Sentence Over FTX Collapse appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ November 4, 2025 6:30 pm