Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has launched an appeal against his conviction on multiple criminal charges, including fraud and money laundering. Convicted last fall, he is currently serving a 25-year sentence.
The appeal, filed Friday, challenges decisions made by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan during the trial, which took place in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Bankman-Fried’s legal team argues that the judge’s decisions severely limited the defense’s ability to present certain evidence, thereby compromising a fair trial.
The appeal document, which runs to more than 100 pages, calls for a new trial to reevaluate the evidence and the verdict. Bankman-Fried was found guilty by a federal jury after allegations surfaced that he misappropriated $8 billion from FTX customers, leading to the dramatic and public collapse of the exchange.