Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 28, 2024, after a jury convicted him of seven fraud and conspiracy counts tied to FTX and Alameda Research. His sentence also includes three years of supervised release and forfeiture of more than $11 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment in June 2026; as of October 8, 2026, a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the case was pending, not accepted or decided.
Why was Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years?
The case centered on the use of FTX customer funds and statements made to customers, investors and lenders. The Second Circuit summarized the government’s trial theory as a promise that customer funds placed with FTX would be secure and used for cryptocurrency transactions on the platform, while funds were transferred to Alameda Research and elsewhere for unauthorized purposes.
According to the DOJ’s account of the prosecution, Bankman-Fried misappropriated billions of dollars in FTX customer funds, gave false or misleading financial information to investors in FTX and lenders to Alameda, and used customer funds for personal purposes, investments, political contributions and Alameda loan repayments. The DOJ also said he directed changes to FTX computer code that enabled Alameda to withdraw effectively unlimited cryptocurrency. These are descriptions of the prosecution’s case and record; they are not separate findings about the precise loss amount.
A jury convicted Bankman-Fried after a four-week trial. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the DOJ sentencing release: “Samuel Bankman-Fried orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, stealing over $8 billion of his customers’ money.” That figure is Williams’s characterization in the release, rather than a separately stated court-calculated loss finding. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “There are serious consequences for defrauding customers and investors.”
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What was Bankman-Fried convicted of?
The DOJ described the seven counts as:
- Two counts of wire fraud.
- Two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
- One count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
- One count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.
- One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The sentencing judgment was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the Southern District of New York on March 28, 2024.
What did the sentence include?
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| 25 years in prison | The prison term imposed by the district court on March 28, 2024. DOJ sentencing release. |
| Three years of supervised release | The term to follow imprisonment, as stated by the DOJ. DOJ sentencing release. |
| More than $11 billion in forfeiture | The DOJ’s description of the forfeiture order; the Second Circuit described it as approximately $11 billion. Forfeiture is not interchangeable with a precise calculation of customer losses. DOJ sentencing release; Second Circuit opinion. |
Did Bankman-Fried’s appeal succeed?
No. On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence. It rejected challenges involving evidentiary and procedural rulings, jury instructions and the forfeiture order. The court described the government’s evidence as “conservatively stated, robust,” in explaining its review of the trial record under the applicable standards.
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Is Bankman-Fried appealing to the Supreme Court?
He has asked the Supreme Court to review the case, but a petition is not the same as the Court agreeing to hear it. Bankman-Fried’s petition raises two proposed questions: when evidence of victims’ losses may be admitted in a fraudulent-inducement prosecution, and whether the Eighth Amendment allows forfeiture or another criminal fine that eliminates a person’s future ability to earn a livelihood. These are the petitioner’s arguments, not Supreme Court rulings.
The Supreme Court docket for No. 26-349 showed the petition filed September 10, 2026, and docketed September 15. As of October 8, the government’s response was due October 15, 2026; the docket showed neither a grant of review nor a decision on the merits. The procedural status may change as the case proceeds. Supreme Court docket, No. 26-349.
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