Former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried appeals conviction to Supreme Court

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto mogul who was convicted of defrauding investors by secretly diverting billions of dollars of their money, asked the Supreme Court on Thursday for a new trial and to throw out a court order requiring him to pay $11 billion as part of his sentence.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 after prosecutors said he directed billions of dollars from the crypto exchange FTX to a hedge fund he controlled called Alameda Research, where the funds were used for risky investments, political donations and his own personal benefit.

The Supreme Court appeal, which was reviewed by CNN, raises a technical question about evidence that was submitted at his trial, and whether Bankman-Fried should have been permitted to demonstrate that his investments were ultimately sound and would have covered any losses by FTX customers.

He also argues that the $11 billion forfeiture violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines.

“Where the government pursues a theory of fraud under which it doesn’t matter whether any victims lost money, introducing evidence suggesting that people actually lost money is distracting and prejudicial,” veteran Supreme Court attorney Jeffrey Fisher told CNN. “All the more so where the truth is the victims did not lose money, and the defendant is unable to make that clear.”

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments earlier this year.

The case hinges in large part on a recent decision from the Supreme Court centered on a US Department of Transportation contractor who promised to meet disadvantaged business requirements to secure a multi-million-dollar bridge painting contract. The contractor ultimately failed to work with that disadvantaged business, instead setting up a passthrough scheme and submitting false certifications to cover up the arrangement.

After prosecutors secured wire fraud and conspiracy convictions, the company and its manager appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that such a deception couldn’t constitute wire fraud if the defendants never intended to cause economic harm. After all, the work was completed.

The Supreme Court rejected that appeal unanimously in 2025.

Bankman-Fried’s claim acknowledged that decision but raises a more nuanced question. If prosecutors don’t need to demonstrate economic loss to bring fraud charges under the “fraudulent inducement” theory the high court embraced last year, then why allow prosecutors to admit evidence of economic loss at all? And if they can do so, Bankman-Fried argues, then defendants should be able to submit evidence working the other direction.

The Supreme Court will review the appeal later this year.

安吉拉·韦斯/法新社/盖蒂图片社

曾因秘密挪用数十亿美元投资者资金而被判欺诈罪的前加密货币大亨萨姆·班克曼-弗里德周四向最高法院提出申请，要求重审此案，并撤销法院要求其支付 110 亿美元作为刑罚一部分的命令。

2024 年，班克曼-弗里德被判处 25 年监禁。检察官称，他将数十亿美元从加密货币交易所 FTX 转移到他控制的对冲基金 Alameda Research，这些资金被用于高风险投资、政治捐款和他个人的利益。

CNN 审查了最高法院的上诉，其中提出了一个技术性问题，即在审判中提交的证据是否应该被允许证明他的投资最终是合理的，并且能够弥补 FTX 客户的任何损失。

他还认为，没收 110 亿美元违反了第八修正案关于禁止过高罚款的规定。

“如果政府提出的欺诈理论不考虑受害者是否蒙受经济损失，那么引入表明有人实际蒙受损失的证据就会分散注意力，而且带有偏见，”资深最高法院律师杰弗里·费舍尔告诉CNN。“尤其是在事实是受害者并未蒙受损失，而被告又无法澄清这一点的情况下，这种做法就更加明显了。”

今年早些时候，美国第二巡回上诉法院驳回了这些论点。

此案的关键很大程度上在于最高法院最近的一项裁决。该裁决涉及一家美国交通部承包商，该承包商为了获得一份价值数百万美元的桥梁涂装合同，承诺满足弱势企业的相关要求。然而，该承包商最终并未与这家弱势企业合作，而是设立了一个转嫁机制，并提交虚假证明文件来掩盖其真实意图。

在检方成功指控该公司犯有电信诈骗和共谋罪后，该公司及其经理向最高法院提起上诉，辩称如果被告从未打算造成经济损失，那么这种欺骗行为就不能构成电信诈骗。毕竟，工作已经完成了。

最高法院于 2025 年一致驳回了该上诉。

班克曼-弗里德的诉讼请求承认了这一裁决，但提出了一个更为微妙的问题。如果检察官无需证明经济损失即可根据最高法院去年采纳的“欺诈诱导”理论提起欺诈指控，那么为何还要允许检察官提交经济损失的证据？班克曼-弗里德认为，如果检察官可以这样做，那么被告也应该能够提交相反的证据。

最高法院将于今年晚些时候审理此案。