Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Presidential Pardon from Behind Bars
Susan Li reports on FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried speaking from prison, found guilty of major financial schemes. Susan Li’s exclusive interview reveals SBF wants a White House pardon and defends himself, claiming customers were repaid.
From inside a federal prison cell, disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is making a bid for a White House lifeline.
In an exclusive interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li, the convicted FTX founder expressed his desire for a presidential pardon, although he refrained from commenting on whether his family is actively lobbying the administration on his behalf.
When Li asked, “I assume that you would want a pardon from the White House?” Bankman-Fried replied, “Absolutely. It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me.”
JAMIE DIMON CALLS COINBASE C.E.O. ‘FULL OF S–T,’ VOWS TO FIGHT CRYPTO-FRIENDLY BILL IN CONGRESS
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried spoke to FOX Business from prison, saying he’d “absolutely” be interested in a pardon from President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
When pressed about whether his family has been in contact with anyone in the administration, Bankman-Fried stated, “I can’t speak for them.”
In March 2024, the former crypto king was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on two counts of wire fraud and five counts of conspiracy. This verdict followed the collapse of his crypto empire, FTX, in November 2022, which resulted in significant financial losses: $8 billion for FTX customers, $1.7 billion for equity investors, and $1.3 billion for lenders to the Alameda Research hedge fund he founded.
Despite his conviction, Bankman-Fried continues to assert that his prosecution was unjust. He pointed out that bankruptcy payouts have increased, partly due to a recovery in cryptocurrency markets.
Professional Capital Management CEO and founder Anthony Pompliano reacts to the disgraced banker’s first interview from prison and talks Coinbase’s legislative wish list.
“I didn’t steal user funds either,” he told Li. “Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits. It’s one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralized, where customers were more than made whole. And yet there was, you know, not just a criminal investigation, but a prosecution. And, you know, dozens of years of sentence[s].”
He further lamented the time it has taken for customers to receive their funds, stating, “It’s a great disservice to them that it has taken three years.”
Bankman-Fried also expressed regret over missing out on the artificial intelligence boom, praising Elon Musk’s business acumen. “It’s a concern I have,” he admitted. “You know, there’s a lot that I did try and position, you know, obviously as a platform towards the future, but my venture fund as well, and to try and play a role in that. I’d certainly much rather be, you know, able to help that out from the outside than in here where there’s very little I can do.”
He remarked on the potential of SpaceX, stating, “There are some parallels here where… frankly, there are very few companies that are well positioned to play a large role in the space industry. It’s one of those very few companies and I foresee it having an extremely large amount of upside, you know, even from where it is today, let alone where it was when we invested. And, you know, very few people have been able to grow companies like Elon has.”
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A ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panel discusses the highly anticipated SpaceX IPO set to debut at a $1.77 trillion valuation and the growth of the company.
FOX Business’ Suzanne O’Halloran contributed to this report.
Susan Li reports on FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried speaking from prison, found guilty of major financial schemes. Susan Li’s exclusive interview reveals SBF wants a White House pardon and defends himself, claiming customers were repaid.
From inside a federal prison cell, disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is making a bid for a White House lifeline.
In an exclusive interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li, the convicted FTX founder expressed his desire for a presidential pardon, although he refrained from commenting on whether his family is actively lobbying the administration on his behalf.
When Li asked, “I assume that you would want a pardon from the White House?” Bankman-Fried replied, “Absolutely. It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me.”
JAMIE DIMON CALLS COINBASE C.E.O. ‘FULL OF S–T,’ VOWS TO FIGHT CRYPTO-FRIENDLY BILL IN CONGRESS
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried spoke to FOX Business from prison, saying he’d “absolutely” be interested in a pardon from President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
When pressed about whether his family has been in contact with anyone in the administration, Bankman-Fried stated, “I can’t speak for them.”
In March 2024, the former crypto king was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on two counts of wire fraud and five counts of conspiracy. This verdict followed the collapse of his crypto empire, FTX, in November 2022, which resulted in significant financial losses: $8 billion for FTX customers, $1.7 billion for equity investors, and $1.3 billion for lenders to the Alameda Research hedge fund he founded.
Despite his conviction, Bankman-Fried continues to assert that his prosecution was unjust. He pointed out that bankruptcy payouts have increased, partly due to a recovery in cryptocurrency markets.
Professional Capital Management CEO and founder Anthony Pompliano reacts to the disgraced banker’s first interview from prison and talks Coinbase’s legislative wish list.
“I didn’t steal user funds either,” he told Li. “Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits. It’s one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralized, where customers were more than made whole. And yet there was, you know, not just a criminal investigation, but a prosecution. And, you know, dozens of years of sentence[s].”
He further lamented the time it has taken for customers to receive their funds, stating, “It’s a great disservice to them that it has taken three years.”
Bankman-Fried also expressed regret over missing out on the artificial intelligence boom, praising Elon Musk’s business acumen. “It’s a concern I have,” he admitted. “You know, there’s a lot that I did try and position, you know, obviously as a platform towards the future, but my venture fund as well, and to try and play a role in that. I’d certainly much rather be, you know, able to help that out from the outside than in here where there’s very little I can do.”
He remarked on the potential of SpaceX, stating, “There are some parallels here where… frankly, there are very few companies that are well positioned to play a large role in the space industry. It’s one of those very few companies and I foresee it having an extremely large amount of upside, you know, even from where it is today, let alone where it was when we invested. And, you know, very few people have been able to grow companies like Elon has.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
A ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panel discusses the highly anticipated SpaceX IPO set to debut at a $1.77 trillion valuation and the growth of the company.
FOX Business’ Suzanne O’Halloran contributed to this report.
