FTX: Second Circuit affirms Bankman-Fried judgment in June 2026
The appellate decision leaves the district-court judgment in place; customer distributions remain a separate process.
- Cited claims
- 3
- Source records
- 3
- Edition revision
- 2
In this investigation
June 2026 appellate decision
On 12 June 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district-court judgment against Samuel Bankman-Fried. The published opinion identifies the seven-count fraud and conspiracy conviction underlying the appeal. This updates the March 2024 sentencing account below; it does not establish that every possible further appeal has ended or calculate bankruptcy repayments.
The decision
On 28 March 2024, a US federal court sentenced FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison following his conviction on seven counts. The Department of Justice said he misappropriated billions of dollars of customer deposits and also defrauded investors in FTX and lenders to Alameda Research. The record describes a criminal conviction, rather than an unresolved accusation.
What customers had been told
According to the sentencing announcement, customers were told their deposits were held safely, separately from company assets and without special access for Alameda. The record describes the opposite: customer money moved to the affiliated trading business, while changes to exchange code enabled effectively unlimited cryptocurrency withdrawals by Alameda.
Why the custody details matter
The failure was not simply an adverse move in token prices. Representations about control of customer assets differed from actual permissions and uses of those assets. The announcement also records more than $11 billion in forfeiture and authorisation to use recovered funds for victim compensation. That authorisation does not show how much any particular claimant has received.
Sources, dates and limits
Checked 23 October 2026 against the March 2024 sentencing announcement and the June 2026 appellate opinion. The court opinion is reproduced by Justia; its court text, rather than the publisher's automated summary, is the evidence used here. Later discretionary appeals and individual bankruptcy distributions are outside this record.
Evidence & sources
- Adjudicated finding
The March 2024 DOJ sentencing record reports Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence following conviction and describes the diversion of FTX customer funds to Alameda.
Supporting excerpt: Samuel Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison
sentenced today to 25 years in prison
Samuel Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison ↗ - Adjudicated finding
On 12 June 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district-court judgment against Samuel Bankman-Fried. The published opinion identifies the seven-count fraud and conspiracy conviction underlying the appeal. This updates the March 2024 sentencing account below; it does not establish that every possible further appeal has ended or calculate bankruptcy repayments.
Supporting excerpt: Second Circuit opinion: United States v. Bankman-Fried
We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
Second Circuit opinion: United States v. Bankman-Fried ↗ - Source reported
ESMA states that the EU-wide MiCA transitional period ended on 1 July 2026.
Supporting excerpt: ESMA statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods
1 July 2026
ESMA statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods ↗
