The conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur and co-founder of FTX, has been upheld by a federal appeals court. This decision follows his 2023 trial that resulted in a 25-year prison sentence. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed that the trial was fair and supported by substantial evidence from the government.

The jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of defrauding FTX customers and investors out of billions of dollars. The appeals court confirmed that he falsely reassured FTX customers while misusing funds for personal expenses, such as real estate and political contributions, falsifying business records to hide his actions. The court emphasized that although publicly promising the safety of customer funds, he treated FTX like a personal bank.

The defense argued that the trial was unfair due to restricted evidence presentation, but this was rejected by the court. Judge Barrington D. Parker authored the opinion of the three-judge panel. Bankman-Fried, who was 34 at the time of conviction, was charged with fraud and conspiracy after an impressive rise and catastrophic fall in the cryptocurrency sector. His company, once promoted on platforms like the Super Bowl, collapsed in November 2022, leading to over $11 billion in losses for stakeholders.

During sentencing, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan criticized his testimony as dishonest and evasive. Notably, customers lost approximately $8 billion, investors lost $1.7 billion, and lenders faced a $1.3 billion deficit. No comments have been offered by Bankman-Fried’s legal representation or the prosecutors on this case.