Bankman-Fried appeals FTX fraud conviction
STORY: Disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried on Thursday appealed his conviction and 25-year prison sentence.
The 32-year-old was convicted in November on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and stealing $8 billion from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.
Federal prosecutors have called it one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history.
Bankman-Fried's legal defense had announced plans to appeal the decision to a Manhattan-based court in late March.
His sentence was shorter than the 40- to 50-year term that prosecutors had recommended, but longer than the 5-1/4 years or fewer his counsel suggested.
Bankman-Fried's appeal could take years, and he faces steep odds in winning the bid.
His lawyers will need to persuade the Manhattan appeals court, and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court, that the judge in his case made significant errors that deprived Bankman-Fried of his legal rights and made the trial unfair.
