SBF Legal Team Argues $11 Billion Penalty Violates Constitution

Sam Bankman Fried will remain broke for the rest of his life if he ever leaves prison, because the eleven billion dollar penalty attached to his sentence is simply too large to pay. His Supreme Court lawyer, Jeffrey Fisher, recently argued that this massive sum violates the Eighth Amendment ban on excessive fines. Fisher pointed out that the judgment is not a clawback of money the former billionaire currently holds, but rather a crushing debt for a sum he does not possess.

Fisher also argues that jurors heard about customer losses during the trial, but they never heard that customers would eventually be repaid. FTX recently completed payouts that returned funds to many creditors. However, those claims were fixed at older prices, meaning creditors missed out on the massive crypto market rally that followed the collapse.

The defense team is now waiting to see if the Supreme Court will take up the case. While most petitions do not make it that far, the timing could work in their favor as the justices recently agreed to hear another dispute regarding excessive financial penalties. Traders and crypto watchers will keep an eye on this legal battle as it moves through the highest court.