Sam Bankman-Fried’s Appeal: Request to Remain in Brooklyn Prison

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, who was recently sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, has made a request to the court to be housed in the New York City area instead of California. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have filed a request asking Judge Lewis Kaplan to allow him to remain in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been held since August 2023. The reason behind this request is to ensure easier access to his appellate counsel as he plans to appeal his conviction and sentencing.

Bankman-Fried’s legal team has expressed their intention to appeal his conviction on seven felony counts. As of now, no filings have been made in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Some legal experts speculate that Bankman-Fried could potentially have years reduced from his sentence based on good behavior during his incarceration.

Originally, Judge Kaplan had determined that Bankman-Fried would serve his sentence at a medium- or low-security prison in the San Francisco Bay Area, likely due to the presence of his family in the region. Prior to his bail being revoked in August 2023, Bankman-Fried had been confined to his parents’ home near Stanford University in California.

Bankman-Fried is one of the few individuals associated with the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research who chose to plead not guilty and face a jury trial. Others, including Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame, who were involved in the same case, opted to plead guilty and negotiate deals with the prosecution. The sentencing dates for Salame, Wang, Ellison, and Singh have yet to be disclosed.

In a separate case involving the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, who also pleaded guilty to one felony count, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30.

4 thoughts on “Sam Bankman-Fried’s Appeal: Request to Remain in Brooklyn Prison

  1. Sending positive thoughts to Bankman-Fried and his legal team during this difficult time. May they navigate the legal process with resilience and achieve the best possible outcome.

  2. Lastly, it’s interesting that the article mentions the separate case involving Changpeng Zhao and Binance. I’m curious to see what will happen during Zhao’s sentencing on April 30th. It’s a whole different legal situation, but still a significant part of the overall narrative.

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