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Incarcerated cryptocurrency founder Sam Bankman-Fried is formally seeking a pardon from President Donald J. Trump, according to the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) website.
Bankman-Fried’s request for “Pardon after Completion of sentence” was submitted in 2026 and is currently pending, the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney website reads. He’s currently serving a 25-year sentence on seven charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering related to his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, according to the DOJ. Trump said in January this year that he would not pardon the former crypto CEO. (RELATED: ‘The Guy’s A Piece Of Sh*t’: Allies Worry Sam Bankman-Fried Might Get Break From Trump)
Bankman-Fried was convicted of orchestrating a colossal fraud scheme via his company FTX as well as his trading firm Alameda Research rooted in the misuse of what amounted to billions of dollars, officials said.
The former cypto CEO made it clear that he wanted a pardon Monday when speaking to Fox Business. “Absolutely,” he said when asked. “It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me.”
Since President Trump took office in January 2025 for his second term, he has issued over 1,400 pardons, CNBC reported. Trump told The New York Times in an expansive January interview that he will not pardon Bankman-Fried along with several other figures, including deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. (RELATED: ‘Everything Is So Diminished’: Sam Bankman-Fried Tells Tucker Carlson What Life Is Like In Slammer)
Republican lawmakers have argued against him receiving a pardon. “The guy’s a piece of shit,” Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who is enthusiastic about crypto, told POLITICO. “The guy shouldn’t be pardoned. The guy should go to jail for a long, long time.”
Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, known as the “crypto queen” of the U.S. Senate, told the outlet she hopes Trump will not give in, emphasizing that the fraudster had “hurt a lot of people.”
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