FTX Founder’s Parents Push for Pardon After Trump’s Ross Ulbricht Decision

Jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) parents are reportedly seeking a pardon for their son from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump’s Pardon Wave Sparks Frenzy—Is SBF Next in Line?

The parents of jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) are reportedly working to have U.S. President Donald Trump pardon their son. According to a Bloomberg report, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, both professors at Stanford Law School, have held meetings with lawyers and unidentified individuals said to be linked to the Trump administration.

The attempt by SBF’s parents to secure their son’s release, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, comes days after Trump delivered on his promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the creator and operator of the online marketplace Silk Road. Ulbricht had already spent more than 10 years in prison when Trump commuted his life sentence.

While the perceived harshness of Ulbricht’s sentence prompted his supporters to launch a campaign for his release, Bankman-Fried has struggled to mobilize similar support against his continued incarceration. Still, the FTX and Alameda Research founder views his sentence as draconian and believes it ignores the fact that most of his victims have been made whole.

The belief that Trump, who claims to be a victim of government “lawfare,” may be sympathetic to their son’s plea is said to have prompted Bankman and Fried to explore the possibility of securing his early release. Ryan Salame, SBF’s former colleague at FTX, is also reportedly seeking a pardon.

As noted in the Bloomberg report, Trump’s pardon of Ulbricht has encouraged similarly situated individuals to weigh their chances of receiving a pardon. Jeffrey Grant, whose law firm specializes in white-collar defendants, claims to have observed a spike in the number of pardon inquiries.

“We have been hearing from people in prison, from people recently sentenced who haven’t reported to the Bureau of Prisons yet, and from people who have been indicted. They are looking for somebody who knows somebody,” Grant said.

Another consultant, Sam Mangel, a white-collar prison consultant, claims to have received guidance on pardons from his contacts in the Trump administration. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor and Trump lawyer, said he has received inquiries but has asked people seeking pardons to wait until the U.S. leader is settled.