Appeals Court Upholds SBF’s 25-Year FTX Sentence

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan on June 12, 2026 denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s appeal and upheld his 2023 conviction and 25-year prison sentence in connection with the roughly $8 billion collapse of the crypto exchange FTX. The panel affirmed seven felony convictions, including wire fraud and conspiracy.

Defense attorneys argued U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan improperly excluded evidence intended to show FTX was solvent and could meet customer withdrawals. The appeals panel rejected claims that the exclusion of that evidence or other trial rulings produced an unfair trial.

Prosecutors relied on testimony from former FTX and Alameda Research executives that Bankman-Fried directed customer funds to cover losses at Alameda. A federal jury convicted him in November 2023 after fewer than five hours of deliberation. At sentencing on March 28, 2024, Judge Kaplan described the scheme as “a very bad bet” on not getting caught.

Bankman-Fried has acknowledged operational mistakes while maintaining he did not intend to steal customer funds. He is serving his sentence at a low-security federal prison near Santa Barbara, California, with a projected release date in 2044.

FTX’s collapse in 2022 erased billions in customer and investor value. Bankruptcy proceedings have produced recoveries for some creditors, while many users suffered losses. Further appeals to the full Second Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court remain possible.