The parents of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried are exploring ways to secure a pardon for the onetime crypto billionaire from President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. Via Bloomberg:
Bankman and Fried declined to comment. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, who’s also filed a legal appeal of his 2023 conviction on charges tied to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment. The president’s swift use of his pardon power, including for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, has encouraged a rush among white-collar defendants eager to put their case before Trump.
In seeking Trump’s mercy, Bankman-Fried — who went from industry darling to villain overnight — would be appealing to a man who went from crypto skeptic to booster. The crypto industry and the libertarian movement strongly advocated for a pardon for Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for drug-trafficking and money-laundering that occurred on his site.
Bankman-Fried doesn’t currently have the same groundswell of support but has previously made the case that his sentence was “draconian” since FTX customers have largely recovered most of the money they initially lost. Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, has also said he’s seeking a pardon.
