about 1 hour ago
By Samantha Delouya, CNN
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto billionaire who orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, officially asked US President Donald Trump for a pardon, according to the Justice Department's website.
Bankman-Fried, 34, co-founded the disgraced crypto exchange FTX and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024. Bankman-Fried's application with the Justice Department, first reported by Bloomberg, is for a "pardon after completion of sentence."
Such a pardon would not erase Bankman-Fried's conviction but would instead restore certain civil liberties - such as the right to vote or to serve on a jury - after he serves out his prison sentence, according to the DOJ's website. The pardon would also lift barriers to licensing, employment, housing or education, if granted.
