Sam Bankman-Fried Formally Files for Presidential Pardon from Trump

Jun 8, 2026

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed a formal clemency petition with the Justice Department's Pardon Attorney's Office seeking a presidential pardon, despite President Trump previously stating he will not grant it. Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence imposed March 28, 2024, with an $11 billion forfeiture order after conviction on seven counts including wire fraud. The court found $8 billion in FTX customer losses.

Presidential pardon petition

▪Sam Bankman-Fried gave his first on-record media appearance from behind bars in a phone interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li.
▪The article about Sam Bankman-Fried's pardon petition was published on June 8, 2026.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried stated he would want a pardon from the White House in a phone interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li.
▪President Donald Trump said that he will not pardon former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried filed a formal clemency petition with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney requesting a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump.

FTX fraud conviction

▪The court found that equity investors in FTX lost $1.7 billion.
▪Prosecutors demonstrated that Sam Bankman-Fried misused billions of dollars in customer deposits to fund risky bets at his affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven criminal counts in November 2023, including two counts of wire fraud and five counts of conspiracy.
▪The court found that lenders to Alameda Research lost $1.3 billion.

Twenty-five year sentence

▪Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered an $11 billion forfeiture in Sam Bankman-Fried's case.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced on March 28, 2024, to 25 years in federal prison.

Customer fund misuse defense

▪Sam Bankman-Fried stated that FTX customers have been repaid 170% or so on their deposits.

Political repositioning tactics

▪Sam Bankman-Fried credited President Trump with rescuing the Securities and Exchange Commission through the appointment of Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried has praised Trump's decision to strike Iran through prison-approved communications.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried highlighted falling gasoline prices under the Trump administration through prison-approved communications.
▪Sam Bankman-Fried appeared on Tucker Carlson's program in 2025 to signal alignment with conservative audiences.

FTX collapse origins

▪The FTX collapse began in November 2022 after CoinDesk reported on balance sheet concerns linking FTX to Alameda Research.
▪Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison testified against Sam Bankman-Fried after pleading guilty and cooperating with federal prosecutors.
▪FTX co-founder Gary Wang testified against Sam Bankman-Fried after pleading guilty and cooperating with federal prosecutors.
▪The CoinDesk report on FTX triggered a customer run that exposed an $8 billion gap in the exchange's accounts.