Sam Bankman-Fried's parents are actively pursuing a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for their son, who was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, both Stanford Law School professors, have engaged in discussions with legal experts and individuals connected to Trump's network regarding potential clemency for their 32-year-old son, according to Bloomberg reports. However, it remains unclear whether they have made direct contact with the White House.
The timing of their efforts follows Trump's recent pardon of Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, who had been serving a life sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering. Trump's evolving stance on cryptocurrency and his history of bypassing traditional clemency processes has given hope to those convicted of financial crimes.
Bankman-Fried's defense team argues that his 25-year sentence was excessive, pointing to the fact that most FTX customers have recovered their lost funds. The cryptocurrency exchange's bankruptcy proceedings have been unexpectedly successful, with the company now recovering up to $16 billion, partly due to rising crypto asset values. In a dramatic turn of events, the bankrupt exchange FTX has launched a lawsuit against its former rival Binance, seeking to recover $1.76 billion.
Adding an intriguing layer to the case, both Bankman-Fried and Trump were tried by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, with both men claiming bias from the judge. While Bankman-Fried was previously known as a major Democratic donor, Trump has demonstrated willingness to consider pardons across political lines when he believes prosecutions were unfair.
The White House has not yet issued any statement regarding the pardon request, and neither Bankman-Fried's parents nor his legal representatives have publicly commented on these efforts.