NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried claim in an appeal filed Friday that the imprisoned FTX founder was the victim of a rush to judgment by a public that wrongly believed he was guilty of stealing billions of dollars from his customers and investors before he was even arrested.
The lawyers filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking a three-judge panel to reverse his conviction and assign the case to a new judge for a retrial, saying the trial judge “imposed a draconian quarter-century sentence on this first-time, non-violent offender” after they contend he hurried the jury into reaching a one-day verdict to cap off a complex four-week trial.
“Sam Bankman-Fried was never presumed innocent. He was presumed guilty — before he was even charged. He was presumed guilty by the media. He was presumed guilty by the FTX debtor estate and its lawyers. He was presumed guilty by federal prosecutors eager for quick headlines. And he was presumed guilty by the judge who presided over his trial,” the lawyers wrote.
They said the passing of time has cast Bankman-Fried in a better light.
“From day one, the prevailing narrative — initially spun by the lawyers who took over FTX, quickly adopted by their contacts at the U.S. Attorney’s Office — was that Bankman-Fried had stolen billions of dollars of customer funds, driven FTX to insolvency, and caused billions in losses,” the attorney said.
“Now, nearly two years later, a very different picture is emerging — one confirming FTX was never insolvent, and in fact had assets worth billions to repay its customers. But the jury at Bankman-Fried’s trial never got to see that picture,” they added.
Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted last November of fraud and conspiracy a year after his companies collapsed into bankruptcy as investors rushed to withdraw funds. A jury concluded that some of their money had been improperly spent on real estate, investments, celebrity endorsements, political contributions and lavish lifestyles.
At its height, FTX was treated as a pioneer and darling in the emerging cryptocurrency industry, with a Super Bowl advertisement, testimony by Bankman-Fried before Congress and endorsements from celebrities such as quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in December 2022 following his extradition from the Bahamas, just weeks after his company filed for bankruptcy and days after some of his former top executives began cooperating with federal prosecutors. Some of them testified against him at trial.
He initially remained under strict bail conditions at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, but Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in Manhattan revoked his bail shortly before the trial after concluding that Bankman-Fried was trying to influence likely witnesses, including an ex-girlfriend who had served as chief executive at Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund.
The fallen mogul is serving a 25-year sentence after he was sentenced in March in what a prosecutor once described as one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history.
A prosecutor’s spokesperson declined to comment Friday.
FILE - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves federal court in Manhattan, Feb. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Most coaches and players would dread having to spend a week on the road. Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers are relishing it.
With games in the Eastern time zone for two straight weeks, the Chargers are staying in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in an AFC matchup of 2-0 teams. The Bolts began their extended road trip on a great note with a 26-3 victory against Carolina last Sunday.
“There’s no reason why we can’t have some fun. Let’s bring the board games and the snacks. It’s a team that enjoys each other’s company, which is one of the positive things I’ve noticed,” Harbaugh said about the extended road trip last week.
Harbaugh is no stranger to staying East when his team has back-to-back games. He did it with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011 and ’12, when the team practiced in Youngstown, Ohio, for a week. Youngstown may seem like an unorthodox choice, but it is the home base for the DeBartolo family, which owns the 49ers.
However, Harbaugh has fond memories of Youngstown since the Niners won both times after practicing there.
The Chargers have five road games in the Eastern time zone for the first time since 2005. The most recent time they had two straight weeks out East was 2004. In 2013 and ’17, the Chargers had two straight road games against East teams, but there was a bye week in between.
In 2018, the Bolts stayed in Cleveland before traveling to London for their “home game” against Tennessee.
Harbaugh realizes spending time away from home and from the team’s new palatial training facility isn’t ideal. But staying in Charlotte and traveling to Pittsburgh on Saturday is a difference of 3,908 air miles because it meant not taking two cross-country trips.
According to the NFL, the Chargers were forecasted to have the most miles traveled this season. The change in itineraries drops them down to eighth.
“The body clock, it’s like, we would fly back (after the Carolina game), and we would be getting back on a plane in practically 4 1/2 days and flying back. That’s the main reason for doing it — the 10:00 West Coast time and body clock. Just some of the studies, by people a lot smarter than me, have figured out that’s a good way to do it,” Harbaugh said.
Team captains Justin Herbert, Derwin James and Rashawn Slater were also all-in on not traveling back after the Panthers game.
“I’m of the mindset it’s a great opportunity for us to be together, to focus on our game, and spend time with each other, get to know each other,” Herbert said. “I think any time you spend a week with your guys, especially like it is in camp, I think it’s an opportunity for us to grow and to get better.”
While some of his teammates will break out the chess boards, Herbert will play Settlers of Catan. In the Risk-like strategy game, players try to gather resources to collect territory.
Harbaugh mentioned that he is more of a Monopoly player but also enjoys chess. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was also on Harbaugh’s staff in San Francisco, doesn’t see much downtime for the coaching staff.
“It’s all business. We’re on the clock, but it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It really is a good team bonding time because everybody’s around each other.”
NFL teams primarily on Pacific time are 260-303 since 1988 when they had to cross three time zones. Arizona is on standard time year-round, which slightly benefits the Cardinals if they have to play East in November, December or January.
After Sunday’s win, the Chargers are 55-58 since 1988 when going cross country, but they have won eight straight and nine of their past 10.
Besides Youngstown, which is 75 miles (120.70 kilometers) from Pittsburgh, the Chargers also had the option of setting up at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
The Greenbrier — which has three practice fields and a sports performance center that features a weight room and meeting spaces — has been utilized by the 49ers and Arizona Cardinals during the regular season. Denver will stay there next week between games against Tampa Bay and the New York Jets.
However, Harbaugh elected to practice for three days at UNC Charlotte because of his relationship with Biff Poggi, who is in his second year as head coach after two years at Michigan as associate head coach.
Charlotte practices in the morning, meaning the Chargers can remain on their regular 12:45-2:45 p.m. schedule.
“I’m excited to have him and excited that he can be here. Making that trip back after the Panthers game and turning right around to play the Steelers is a tough transition,” Poggi said during his Tuesday news conference.
It also means the Chargers can conduct on-field walkthroughs. When Harbaugh was at the 49ers and stayed in Youngstown, their walkthroughs were in a vacant parking lot behind the team hotel. In 2012, Harbaugh had buses surrounding the lot so that wandering cars, or possible spies from the Jets, could observe it.
“That was interesting. I mean, the conditions were pretty Spartan, but it was great,” Roman said. “We put the work in and just adapted. I think everybody had a great time.”
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert looks to pass against the Carolina Panthers an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
Los Angeles chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
