Appeals court upholds fraud conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried

A federal appeals court upheld the fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The court identified Bankman-Fried as the main driver of an $11 billion fraud scheme. This ruling follows a November 2023 New York federal jury conviction on seven counts. The decision occurred shortly after Bankman-Fried applied for a presidential pardon to clear his criminal record, but his legal appeal ultimately failed to overturn the sentence.