SBF Launches Appeal, Claims He Was “Presumed Guilty” Before Trial
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is transferring to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year jail sentence as his appeals course of begins right now.
The FTX founder’s authorized counsel will argue that he was presumed responsible earlier than he was even charged.
SBF Takes His Case to Court
As oral arguments for SBF’s attraction get underway in Manhattan this week, the 33-year-old founder of the collapsed FTX exchange is seizing the second to distance his identify from phrases like “deception” and “betrayal.”
Since a jury convicted SBF on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy two years in the past, he and his authorized crew have been engaged on constructing his probabilities of an attraction to overturn his 25-year jail sentence.
During oral arguments, SBF’s legal professional, Alexandra Shapiro, will argue that her consumer was handled as responsible from the outset, paving the way in which for a biased trial that finally resulted in his conviction.
“In the United States, individuals accused of crimes are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible past an inexpensive doubt,” Shapiro wrote in a September 2024 temporary filed with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reviewed by BeInCrypto. “That’s the way it’s presupposed to work,” she continued. “But none of that occurred right here. Fair trial rules had been swept away in a ‘sentence first, verdict afterwards’ rush to judgment after FTX’s collapse.”
She argued that bias, procedural errors, and the courtroom’s refusal to let the protection current essential proof tainted the trial.
Inside the Government’s Case Against SBF
SBF’s conviction stemmed from the collapse of FTX and its sister agency, Alameda Research, following the 2022 crypto market crash.
Prosecutors alleged that he misled prospects whereas secretly utilizing consumer funds to prop up Alameda and finance different ventures. The trial befell within the Southern District of New York earlier than Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
In November 2023, a jury discovered SBF responsible. The prices adopted months of market turmoil, throughout which Bitcoin misplaced greater than half its worth, major crypto players like Luna and Three Arrows Capital imploded, and bankruptcies erupted across the sector.
Alameda’s closely crypto-linked holdings plunged in value, forcing emergency repayments and exposing deep liquidity issues that finally led to FTX’s collapse.
The authorities argued FTX was a fraud from inception, claiming SBF constructed it to funnel customer funds to Alameda. Prosecutors mentioned he used the cash for high-risk bets, actual property investments, and political donations, whereas deceptive buyers about FTX’s stability.
Former executives testified that he approved misleading steadiness sheets and hid Alameda’s large debt.
Yet, in response to SBF’s authorized protection, there was one other method to view FTX’s demise.
SBF’s Lawyers Say Evidence Was Silenced
In her temporary, Shapiro argued that the jury by no means obtained to see the complete image of FTX’s collapse.
She maintained that SBF acted in good religion and believed FTX and Alameda were solvent when the market panic hit. The protection was ready to indicate that FTX’s downfall stemmed from a liquidity crunch pushed by a surge in buyer withdrawals, moderately than from insolvency.
“There had been at all times enough property to make prospects complete, though it might have taken a couple of days to some weeks to promote sufficient of them to cowl all remaining buyer deposits, ought to the run on the financial institution proceed,” Shapiro argued.
She argued the courtroom blocked key proof proving the businesses’ solvency whereas letting prosecutors current their model unchallenged. It additionally excluded most professional witnesses and restricted the testimony of the one permitted to seem. As a consequence, SBF was pressured to rely primarily on his personal account.
Shapiro added that the judge undermined her client’s credibility by mocking his demeanor throughout testimony.
“The courtroom ‘ridiculed Bankman-Fried’s demeanor, making feedback like ‘the witness has what I’ll merely name an attention-grabbing method of responding to questions,’” the temporary learn.
The Second Circuit is anticipated to take a number of months to concern a call following this week’s oral arguments.
If the courtroom sides with SBF, his case could possibly be despatched again for a brand new trial. Such a transfer would reopen one of the high-profile fraud instances within the historical past of cryptocurrency.
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