Appeals Court Seems Unmoved by Sam Bankman-Fried’s Claims of an Unfair Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried's bid for a new trial following his 25-year sentence for fraud faced skepticism from a Second Circuit appellate court during a hearing. His lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, argued the trial was "fundamentally unfair" because the judge prevented the jury from hearing evidence that FTX was solvent when it filed for bankruptcy, suggesting no actual theft occurred due to ongoing creditor repayments. Appellate judges, however, questioned this, noting the core issue was misrepresentation regarding liquidity, not solvency, citing a recent Supreme Court decision that loss is not required for fraud. Shapiro also argued Bankman-Fried was unfairly barred from presenting evidence about the involvement of FTX's lawyers in setting up entities, which she claimed showed good faith. Judges countered that since an advice-of-counsel defense was not formally raised, this evidence was less probative. Prosecutors argued there was overwhelming evidence of fraud, and any alleged errors would be harmless, as the focus was on misappropriation when customers sought withdrawals in 2022, not the ultimate recovery value of assets.

(Source：CoinDesk)