Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s Campaign to Reclaim the FTX Story

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As Sam Bankman-Fried prepares to appeal his 2023 fraud conviction, Reveal and Mother Jones investigates the collapse of FTX that put him behind bars and the controversial bankruptcy that has unfolded in its aftermath.

We reviewed thousands of pages of legal records and corporate documents and spoke to key insiders, including Bankman-Fried’s parents and Bankman-Fried himself, whom we interviewed more than a half-dozen times in prison. These interviews gave us rare insight into the arguments that Bankman-Fried’s legal team will likely use in court as they press for his conviction to be overturned.

“You know, I never defrauded anyone,” Bankman-Fried said in one conversation. It was a sentiment he expressed again and again, despite the findings of a jury. He insisted that FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded in 2019, was never bankrupt. And he claimed the billions he was found guilty of stealing were never gone.

In their bid to clear his name, Bankman-Fried and his parents argue that the saga’s real villain is one of the world’s most powerful law firms, Sullivan & Cromwell. They allege that the firm wrestled FTX away from Bankman-Fried; installed a new CEO, John J. Ray III, in his place; and profited handsomely from the company’s downfall. The firm ultimately would play a critical role in getting Bankman-Fried locked up, while going on to pull in nearly a quarter-billion dollars in legal fees.

But when it comes to questions of Bankman-Fried’s guilt or innocence, why should anyone trust his parents?

“They shouldn’t trust us,” Barbara Fried said. “They should look at the facts. And many of the relevant facts are public, they’ve been public for a long time. All we would say to people is, ‘You have heard one side of the story only.’”

Read the full investigation here

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