Who Is Sam Bankman-Fried? Trump Targeted by Jailed FTX Founder Seeking Presidential Pardon From Federal Cell

The man once hailed as the saviour of crypto is now pleading with the president for his freedom from a federal prison cell.

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally applied for a presidential pardon, more than two years after his conviction tied to the multi-billion-dollar collapse of the crypto exchange. His bid for clemency arrives at a remarkable juncture: the same political system he spent tens of millions of dollars attempting to influence is now his last real avenue out of prison. The boldness of the approach is matched only by the scale of the fraud that put him there.

The Rise And Ruin Of A Crypto King

Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried, known widely as SBF, was born on 6 March 1992 in Stanford, California. He grew up in an academic household, both parents are law professors at Stanford University, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in physics in 2014. He later co-founded FTX in 2019, and within three years had built it into one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The company was valued at over $30 billion ($23.4bn) at its peak and was known for its innovative products and aggressive marketing, including a Super Bowl advertisement and naming rights to the Miami Heat's arena. Bankman-Fried cultivated an image as a responsible, philanthropically minded operator, a grown-up in the Wild West of crypto. He testified before Congress. He appeared on magazine covers. He was positioned, in the words of many commentators, as the future of finance.

Conviction, Sentence, And A Judge's Scathing Assessment

The criminal trial that followed was one of the most closely watched financial fraud cases in American history. A federal jury in November 2023 convicted Bankman-Fried on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency company and related hedge fund.

Jurors did not buy Bankman-Fried's version of events, holding him responsible for losing about $10 billion ($7.8bn) in customer money due to the securities fraud conspiracy. Prosecutors told the judge that Bankman-Fried stole money from customers who entrusted it to him, lied to investors, sent fabricated documents to lenders, pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into the political system, and bribed foreign officials.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York issued the 25-year sentence at a hearing, finding that FTX customers had lost $8 billion ($6.2bn). The judge also found three instances where he concluded Bankman-Fried committed perjury during his trial testimony. 'There is absolutely no doubt that Mr Bankman-Fried's name right now is pretty much mud around the world,' Judge Kaplan stated from the bench. The court also imposed an $11 billion ($8.6bn) forfeiture order and authorised the government to repay victims with seized assets.

The Pardon Push: Politics, Power, And A Prison Cell

From his federal prison cell, Bankman-Fried has launched a systematic campaign to win executive clemency from a president he never supported, and whose political opponents he helped finance with stolen money.

Speaking exclusively to Fox Business correspondent Susan Li, Bankman-Fried said he 'absolutely' wants a presidential pardon, while declining to say whether his family is currently lobbying the administration on his behalf. When Li asked whether his parents or anyone in contact with him was lobbying the White House, Bankman-Fried deflected. 'I can't speak for them,' he said.

Despite his conviction, Bankman-Fried continued to argue that his prosecution was unjust, pointing to the fact that bankruptcy payouts have increased due in part to the recovery in cryptocurrency markets. 'Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits,' he told Li. 'It's one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralised, where customers were more than made whole.'

Records on the Justice Department's Pardon Attorney Office website show that the 34-year-old requested a 'pardon after completion of sentence'. The application's status remains listed as 'pending'.

Bankman-Fried's reputation as one of the top Biden donors has limited his appeal to the Trump administration. That, combined with his deeply unpopular status in parts of the crypto industry, has made his campaign for a pardon a long shot, according to Washington insiders. During the 2022 midterm cycle, Bankman-Fried spent tens of millions of dollars, much of it allegedly diverted from FTX customer funds, across both parties. Most of his publicly disclosed contributions, which totalled nearly $40 million ($31.2bn) in the 2022 election cycle, went toward Democrats, according to FEC records. He also admitted to concealing donations to Republican-aligned groups via dark money channels.

A Remote Chance And A Relentless Legal Fight

Trump himself has not left much room for optimism. In January, Trump told The New York Times in a wide-ranging interview that he has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried. That statement has done little to deter SBF's courtship of the administration. Bankman-Fried gave an unsanctioned interview to Tucker Carlson last year, which reportedly landed him in solitary confinement. He has also used social media, via a friend managing his account, to applaud Trump's use of pardon powers, most notably praising Trump's decision to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years on drug trafficking charges.

In parallel, his legal team continues to fight in court. Attorneys for Bankman-Fried urged the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for a redo of the criminal trial and a different judge to preside, arguing he was 'hamstrung' at trial by prejudicial rulings from the Manhattan federal judge who oversaw the case. His appellate legal team, led by attorney Alexandra Shapiro, filed the formal appeal brief in September 2024, with oral arguments heard by a three-judge panel on 4 November 2025. A ruling from the Second Circuit is expected in 2026.

For now, Bankman-Fried waits, managing his public image through prison phone calls and carefully worded social media posts, focusing on a president whose pardon pen has already run dry on his case.