Donald Trump · DOJ · White House · New York · Bitcoin Magazine
Sam Bankman-Fried Formally Seeks Presidential Pardon From Trump, Files Clemency Petition
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Sam Bankman-Fried has formally petitioned for a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, even as Trump has publicly indicated he does not intend to grant clemency to the convicted FTX founder.
Key facts
- The court found that FTX customers lost $8 billion, equity investors in FTX lost $1.7 billion, and lenders to Alameda Research lost $1.3 billion
- The FTX collapse began in November 2022 after on balance sheet concerns linking FTX to Alameda Research, triggering a customer run that exposed an $8 billion gap in the exchange’s accounts
- Bankman-Fried was sentenced on March 28, 2024, to 25 years in federal prison after a New York jury found him guilty on all seven criminal counts in November 2023, including two counts of wire fraud
- Key FTX insiders, including former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, testified against Bankman-Fried after pleading guilty and cooperating with federal prosecutors
Summary
Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has filed a formal clemency petition with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, requesting a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump while serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy. The application, now listed as pending in DOJ records, comes as Bankman-Fried pursues a simultaneous appeal of his conviction and sentence. In a phone interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li, his first on-record media appearance from behind bars, Bankman-Fried made clear he wants Trump’s intervention. When pressed on whether his parents or family members were lobbying the administration on his behalf, Bankman-Fried offered only a deflection: “I can’t speak for them.”