Sam Bankman-Fried—Serving 25 Years For Fraud—Formally Applies For Trump Pardon
The petition is listed as pending, and Trump has already pardoned several crypto figures.
- On Monday, June 8, 2026, Sam Bankman-Fried filed an official pardon application with the Justice Department Pardon Attorney Office while serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy related to the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- Bankman-Fried has spent months aligning with President Donald Trump's positions, writing through intermediaries to praise the president's decision to launch strikes against Iran and arguing that Trump helped "save" the Securities and Exchange Commission by replacing Chair Gary Gensler with Paul Atkins.
- Previously a Democratic donor, SBF is attempting to ingratiate himself with Republicans as his parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have explored pardon possibilities with figures in Trump's orbit.
- Since returning to office, Trump has pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, and BitMEX co-founders, while an NBC News analysis found more than half of individual pardons went to white-collar criminals.
- Despite the application, Trump's support remains uncertain; in a January interview with The New York Times, he stated that Bankman-Fried should not count on clemency, grouping him with other defendants he did not intend to pardon.
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FTX Co-Founder Bankman-Fried Formally Applies for Trump Pardon
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried formally applied for a presidential pardon, more than two years after he was convicted over the multi-billion dollar collapse of his once-thriving cryptocurrency empire.
FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried applies for Trump pardon
Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted in the FTX cryptocurrency empire collapse, has formally applied for a presidential pardon. He submitted his application to the Justice Department seeking relief after his prison sentence. Bankman-Fried has been using social media and interviews to seek executive clemency from President Donald Trump. Trump previously stated he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried.
Sam Bankman-Fried wants a pardon from Trump.
The convicted FTX fraudster serving a 25-year prison sentence now has a formal filing for the presidential pardon he’s been openly seeking, plus a new jailhouse phone interview with Fox Business. He presumably hopes that was seen inside the White House, despite Donald Trump’s comments in January that he had no plan to pardon SBF. [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/office-of-pardon-attorney.jpg?quality=90&str…
FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Formally Applies for Pardon
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally applied for a pardon from President Donald Trump, according to the Department of Justice. On the Office of the Pardon Attorney website, Bankman-Fried sought a “pardon after completion of sentence,” and the status remains “pending.” The former billionaire crypto investor received a 25‑year federal prison sentence after being found guilty of securities and wire fraud, as we…
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