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The parents of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) are seeking to secure a pardon for their son from President Donald Trump.
Stanford Law School Professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried have reportedly held meetings in recent weeks with lawyers and individuals linked to Trump’s circle to discuss a potential pardon for SBF.
The once-crypto mogul is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and stealing $8 billion from FTX customers.
Stating SBF showed no remorse, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said ahead of his sentencing, "He knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right."
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"The defendant's assertion that FTX customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading, it is logically flawed, it is speculative," Kaplan said at the time.
"A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole."
It is unclear if any direct outreach has been made to the White House but Trump's recent pardoning of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht has sparked a wave of interest from white-collar criminals seeking clemency.
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy and had been serving a double life sentence in prison.
"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," Trump announced on Truth Social just days after his inauguration.
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Jeffrey Grant, who runs a legal and advisory firm specializing in white-collar defence, has noted a surge in pardon-related inquiries.
“We have been hearing from people in prison, from people recently sentenced who haven’t reported to the Bureau of Prisons yet, from people who have been indicted,” Grant said. “They are looking for somebody who knows somebody.”
