Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to challenge his 2023 fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence. His defense team argued that he was denied a fair trial due to judicial bias and the exclusion of key evidence.
The appeal seeks to overturn the conviction or secure a new trial under a different judge. Bankman-Fried maintains that the jury was influenced by media coverage and that critical testimony regarding FTX’s operations was not admitted during proceedings.
Legal experts say the case could set a precedent for how courts handle future cryptocurrency fraud trials, highlighting the growing intersection between digital assets and U.S. financial regulation.