FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty of seven counts in 2024, after which the public prosecutor decided not to hold a second criminal trial with further allegations. The SBF was threatened with 110 years in prison for the first verdict, which has now increased to 25 years. He fights against it from prison and hopes, among other things, for a pardon. However, the request he has now submitted (ref. P338490) is surprising: he is not asking for a shortening of his sentence, but rather for a pardon after serving his sentence.
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SBF is co-founder of the crypto speculation company Alameda Research, which went bankrupt in November 2022, and the crypto exchange FTX, which also went bankrupt. He embezzled customer deposits and misused them for cryptocurrency betting, large donations to politicians, real estate purchases and other expenses.
By the grace of Trump
The President can grant clemency to criminals convicted or at risk of being convicted in federal courts or in the District of Columbia. There is no entitlement to this. Mercy can be expressed in a postponement or reduction of prison sentences and fines to zero, and/or in a pardon, even if the perpetrator has already served his or her sentence. A pardon does not mean innocence, but the offender regains certain rights that were taken away, including the ability to vote, hold certain public offices and serve on a jury.
Traditionally, requests for clemency are screened out according to strict criteria before the president makes a decision. Of the thousands of requests made every year, only a few get through. Trump, on the other hand, uses his right to clemency extensively for favorites and their patrons, regularly without prior review. Lawyers and lobbyists have discovered this as a business; For a few million dollars, they promise wealthy criminals special efforts to win Trump’s favor. SBF no longer has the money.
Earlier this year, Trump said he would not grant SBF clemency. You can still try, especially since the incumbent US President is not known for strong opinions. SBF doesn’t have much to lose. Although he has appealed his conviction, statistically speaking only a few appeals are successful.
Own goal in court
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His request to repeat the original trial based on newly discovered facts would have been a little less hopeless – had SBF not shot itself in the foot through obvious dishonesty. In the application for a repeat trial, the convict stated that he was acting on his own behalf, i.e. without professional assistance. However, the petitions were not sent from his prison, but were posted near the home of his parents, both well-known lawyers. In addition, the mother sent letters and calls to the judge’s office, which is not acceptable in the US legal system.
The judge asked SBF to explain whether he was really acting without legal advice. SBF then wanted to withdraw its application to repeat the procedure so that it could be resubmitted later. But the judge didn’t let that go. He refused a new registration because SBF knew the supposedly new facts before his conviction. He also criticized SBF for its image campaign online and in right-wing media. SBF planned this immediately after the FTX bankruptcy and before the charges were filed, as disclosed Google Docs documents show.
SBF has also lodged an appeal against this judge’s decision. Why SBF only asked the President for a pardon after imprisonment and not for a reduction in his sentence remains his secret. He’ll probably save the second request for later. So he stays in the conversation, and perhaps the PR campaign can change Mr. Trump’s mind in the meantime.
The criminal proceedings USA v Samuel Bankman-Fried filed in the United States District Court for Southern New York under case number 22-CR-673. The appeal is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, case number 24-961.
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