6 ms·

Sam Bankman-Fried loses bid to appeal against fraud conviction in FTX case

90 points by pseudolus 4mo ago

neonstatic 4mo ago
Good night, sweet prince
CryptoBanker 4mo ago
Good
abrowne 4mo ago
Bankman won't be Fried
NickC25 4mo ago
How utterly predictable.
3stacks 4mo ago
Scam Bankman-Fraud is just one of the few highly publicised cases they will use to pretend they are actually serious about tackling these issues. Wake me when someone gets prosecuted for front-running Axios' "Iran deal is imminent" articles in the oil market.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- GolfPopper 4mo ago
  He committed the one crime you can't buy your way out of: scamming the ruling finance class.
  - whynotmaybe 4mo ago
    "You kill a whale, you'll get the greens, you'll get Greenpeace, you'll get Commander Cousteau on your back! But decimate a school of sardines, I like to tell you that you will be helped to can them!" From the 1992 movie man bites dog.
  - JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
    > scamming the ruling finance class Loads of fraudsters get off on technicalities or are being pardoned by this President. What started as a joke on Reddit appears to be taken seriously by way too many people.
jmyeet 4mo ago
Waste of time. Just buy a pardon [1][2][3][4][5]. [1]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-... [2]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-pardon-economy https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-... [3]: https://apnews.com/article/nikola-trevor-milton-fraud-trump-pardon-3fcebb0a3820cecb205656f2dc3f6764 https://apnews.com/article/nikola-trevor-milton-fraud-trump-... [4]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o [5]: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-exchange-money-laundering.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-e...
- matwood 4mo ago
  Yeah, it's odd he can't scrape together a couple million and just get a pardon. It seems like the people who were able to pick up FTX claims for .50-.60 on the dollar, and have now made a killing, would toss Sam a tip.
  - dylan604 4mo ago
    Why would they? What would be the return for them?
    - porkchoppers 4mo ago
      On the same basis as phishing emails having spelling mistakes a smart pyramid scheme would hire him as a mascot to keep the idiots buying and the critical analysis hard to separate from jokes.
    - matwood 4mo ago
      Nothing is in it for them. It’s why I called it a tip - like tipping your blackjack dealer when you have a good run.
- vessenes 4mo ago
  Trump reportedly was disinterested in SBF money. During his tenure, SBF leaned left - with Clinton and others as paid speakers for events.
Lerc 4mo ago
>In appealing against the conviction, Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyers argued that US district judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the trial, improperly prevented Bankman-Fried from introducing evidence to back up his belief that FTX had enough funds to cover customer withdrawals. So it's been a few years now. Did people get their money in the end? That would presumably answer the question of whether they were stolen from. It wouldn't affect any decisions on crimes related to flouting regulations.
- benzible 4mo ago
  That is not how any of this works. He was convicted of fraud, and fraud was committed the moment he transferred the funds to Alameda. That he placed some bets that worked out, like his Anthropic investment, doesn't negate the crime any more than if I robbed a bank, placed a winning bet with it and returned the funds with interest.
  - tsunamifury 4mo ago
    Except when you pay someone to manage your money. Remember this.
    - gcheong 4mo ago
      Clarify? I don't understand how whether or not I pay someone to manage my money makes a difference as to whether what they did was commit fraud. People paid Bernie Madoff to manage their money and early investors got promised returns but he still went to jail because he was running an illegal ponzi scheme.
      - tsunamifury 4mo ago
        They have far greater latitude to move it and do what they deem smartest with it. And take fees for themselves. And put you in deals that benefits other clients they prefer. And on and on. And on. Dumping, swapping, bag holding, fee based investments that are crap. All legal.
  - 4mo ago
throw563 4mo ago
Small criminals rot in jails but big ones like founder of silk road get out paying the government. This is shows how rotten american government is
- voganmother42 4mo ago
  I think the tiered justice system sucks, but this is no small criminal
  - bmitc 4mo ago
    His crime wasn't small, but he is because he wasn't already wealthy before committing his crimes.
juliusceasar 4mo ago
[flagged]
- 3327 4mo ago
  [dead]
watersb 4mo ago
He will hold a Cabinet-level position before 2029.
- ourmandave 4mo ago
  Trump already chose the Binance money-launderer Zhao which was a competitor of FTX. But the administration loves frauds, so maybe if Bankman can come up with a bribe.
  - ben4next 4mo ago
    [flagged]
    - momoschili 4mo ago
      he ain't a left winger. right winger cosplaying
      - ben4next 4mo ago
        "Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the largest financial supporters of the Democratic Party and left-wing campaigns. He publicly cultivated a center-left persona and aligned his philanthropic efforts with progressive ideologies." Src: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/george-santos-sam-bankman-fried-and-citizens-united https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/geor...
        randycupertino 4mo ago
        He did that for PR. He stated he also secretly donated to the right. > SBF claims he gave tens of millions in untraceable donations to Republicans > Although federal election receipts show that Bankman-Fried donated almost exclusively to Democrats, he claimed on a November phone call with YouTuber Tiffany Fong that he donated an equal amount to Republicans and Democrats. > “All my Republican donations were dark,” he said, referring to political donations that are not publicly disclosed in FEC filings. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it’s because reporters freak the f—k out if you donate to Republicans. They’re all super liberal, and I didn’t want to have that fight.” > Given that he donated nearly $40 million to Democrats in the 2022 election cycle—and he admitted to giving an equal amount to Republicans—his total political contributions may have actually been around $80 million. https://time.com/6241262/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations/ https://time.com/6241262/sam-bankman-fried-political-donatio...
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
penguin_booze 4mo ago
He's not thug enough. Try again.

90 points by pseudolus 4mo ago

neonstatic 4mo ago

Good night, sweet prince

CryptoBanker 4mo ago

Good

abrowne 4mo ago

Bankman won't be Fried

NickC25 4mo ago

How utterly predictable.

3stacks 4mo ago

Scam Bankman-Fraud is just one of the few highly publicised cases they will use to pretend they are actually serious about tackling these issues. Wake me when someone gets prosecuted for front-running Axios' "Iran deal is imminent" articles in the oil market.

deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
GolfPopper 4mo ago
He committed the one crime you can't buy your way out of: scamming the ruling finance class.
- whynotmaybe 4mo ago
  "You kill a whale, you'll get the greens, you'll get Greenpeace, you'll get Commander Cousteau on your back! But decimate a school of sardines, I like to tell you that you will be helped to can them!" From the 1992 movie man bites dog.
- JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
  > scamming the ruling finance class Loads of fraudsters get off on technicalities or are being pardoned by this President. What started as a joke on Reddit appears to be taken seriously by way too many people.

jmyeet 4mo ago

Waste of time. Just buy a pardon [1][2][3][4][5]. [1]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-... [2]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-pardon-economy https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-... [3]: https://apnews.com/article/nikola-trevor-milton-fraud-trump-pardon-3fcebb0a3820cecb205656f2dc3f6764 https://apnews.com/article/nikola-trevor-milton-fraud-trump-... [4]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o [5]: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-exchange-money-laundering.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-e...

matwood 4mo ago
Yeah, it's odd he can't scrape together a couple million and just get a pardon. It seems like the people who were able to pick up FTX claims for .50-.60 on the dollar, and have now made a killing, would toss Sam a tip.
- dylan604 4mo ago
  Why would they? What would be the return for them?
  - porkchoppers 4mo ago
    On the same basis as phishing emails having spelling mistakes a smart pyramid scheme would hire him as a mascot to keep the idiots buying and the critical analysis hard to separate from jokes.
  - matwood 4mo ago
    Nothing is in it for them. It’s why I called it a tip - like tipping your blackjack dealer when you have a good run.
vessenes 4mo ago
Trump reportedly was disinterested in SBF money. During his tenure, SBF leaned left - with Clinton and others as paid speakers for events.

Lerc 4mo ago

>In appealing against the conviction, Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyers argued that US district judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the trial, improperly prevented Bankman-Fried from introducing evidence to back up his belief that FTX had enough funds to cover customer withdrawals. So it's been a few years now. Did people get their money in the end? That would presumably answer the question of whether they were stolen from. It wouldn't affect any decisions on crimes related to flouting regulations.

benzible 4mo ago
That is not how any of this works. He was convicted of fraud, and fraud was committed the moment he transferred the funds to Alameda. That he placed some bets that worked out, like his Anthropic investment, doesn't negate the crime any more than if I robbed a bank, placed a winning bet with it and returned the funds with interest.
- tsunamifury 4mo ago
  Except when you pay someone to manage your money. Remember this.
  - gcheong 4mo ago
    Clarify? I don't understand how whether or not I pay someone to manage my money makes a difference as to whether what they did was commit fraud. People paid Bernie Madoff to manage their money and early investors got promised returns but he still went to jail because he was running an illegal ponzi scheme.
    - tsunamifury 4mo ago
      They have far greater latitude to move it and do what they deem smartest with it. And take fees for themselves. And put you in deals that benefits other clients they prefer. And on and on. And on. Dumping, swapping, bag holding, fee based investments that are crap. All legal.
- 4mo ago

throw563 4mo ago

Small criminals rot in jails but big ones like founder of silk road get out paying the government. This is shows how rotten american government is

voganmother42 4mo ago
I think the tiered justice system sucks, but this is no small criminal
- bmitc 4mo ago
  His crime wasn't small, but he is because he wasn't already wealthy before committing his crimes.

juliusceasar 4mo ago

[flagged]

3327 4mo ago
[dead]

watersb 4mo ago

He will hold a Cabinet-level position before 2029.

ourmandave 4mo ago
Trump already chose the Binance money-launderer Zhao which was a competitor of FTX. But the administration loves frauds, so maybe if Bankman can come up with a bribe.
- ben4next 4mo ago
  [flagged]
  - momoschili 4mo ago
    he ain't a left winger. right winger cosplaying
    - ben4next 4mo ago
      "Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the largest financial supporters of the Democratic Party and left-wing campaigns. He publicly cultivated a center-left persona and aligned his philanthropic efforts with progressive ideologies." Src: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/george-santos-sam-bankman-fried-and-citizens-united https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/geor...
      - randycupertino 4mo ago
        He did that for PR. He stated he also secretly donated to the right. > SBF claims he gave tens of millions in untraceable donations to Republicans > Although federal election receipts show that Bankman-Fried donated almost exclusively to Democrats, he claimed on a November phone call with YouTuber Tiffany Fong that he donated an equal amount to Republicans and Democrats. > “All my Republican donations were dark,” he said, referring to political donations that are not publicly disclosed in FEC filings. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it’s because reporters freak the f—k out if you donate to Republicans. They’re all super liberal, and I didn’t want to have that fight.” > Given that he donated nearly $40 million to Democrats in the 2022 election cycle—and he admitted to giving an equal amount to Republicans—his total political contributions may have actually been around $80 million. https://time.com/6241262/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations/ https://time.com/6241262/sam-bankman-fried-political-donatio...

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

penguin_booze 4mo ago

He's not thug enough. Try again.