Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents explore seeking Trump pardon for fallen ‘crypto king’

NEW YORK – The parents of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried are exploring ways to secure a pardon for the one-time crypto billionaire from US President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried had meetings in recent weeks with lawyers and other figures considered to be in Mr Trump’s orbit about clemency for their 32-year-old son, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud in 2024, the person said. It is unclear if outreach has been made to the White House.

Mr Bankman and Ms Fried declined to comment.

A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, who has also filed a legal appeal of his 2023 conviction on charges tied to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, did not 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 Mr Trump. 

In seeking Mr Trump’s mercy, Bankman-Fried – who went from industry darling to villain overnight – would be appealing to a man who went from crypto sceptic to booster.

The crypto industry and the libertarian movement strongly advocated for a pardon for Mr Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for drug-trafficking and money-laundering that occurred on his site. 

Bankman-Fried does not 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 is seeking a pardon.

Mr Jeffrey Grant, who runs a legal and advisory firm in New York for white-collar defendants, said he has received perhaps 100 inquiries about pardons. 

“We have been hearing from people in prison, from people recently sentenced who haven’t reported to the Bureau of Prisons yet, from people who have been indicted,” Mr Grant said. “They are looking for somebody who knows somebody.”

Federal prisoners may apply for clemency through a Justice Department office dedicated to such requests, but Mr Trump has previously made decisions based on less formal appeals. 

Mr Sam Mangel, a white-collar prison consultant, said he was working on several clemency requests.

Mr Mangel, who has previously worked for Mr Steve Bannon and Mr Peter Navarro, said he had been given some guidance from contacts within the President’s circle.

“I was told not to bring any sex crimes, true crimes of violence or illegal immigration cases,” he added. 

The President’s early use of his pardon power contrasts with his first term, when most of his clemency orders came towarda the end of his time in office.

That is typical of most presidents, including Mr Joe Biden, who issued a flurry of pardons in his final days, including for his son and other family members and certain high-profile political opponents of Mr Trump. 

Mr Trump pardoned a number of Republican political allies like Mr Bannon.

Bankman-Fried was once a Democratic mega-donor, but the President has also come to the aid of Democrats who say they have been victims of political prosecutions.

Mr Trump has been mulling over intervening in the bribery case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, who has suggested he was targeted because he criticised Mr Biden’s immigration policies. 

Bankman-Fried and Mr Trump may share a more specific sense of injustice.

US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who oversaw the FTX founder’s trial and sentenced him to decades behind bars, also presided over the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought against Mr Trump by New York writer E. Jean Carroll.

Both Bankman-Fried and Mr Trump have accused Judge Kaplan of being unfair to them. BLOOMBERG

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