Bankman-Fried's Supreme Court petition gets 32 more days before the government must answer
Sam Bankman-Fried's Supreme Court petition now waits on a government reply due Nov. 16 instead of Oct. 15. Cointelegraph reports the justices could decide whether to hear the case in late 2026 or early 2027.
The Investor · Invest desk
Timeline: the Second Circuit decision in June 2026; the government's original response deadline of Oct. 15, extended to Nov. 16; the Supreme Court's current term ends in June 2027, when a ruling could come if the court grants review.
| Date | Event | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | Second Circuit decision restates prosecutors' position | 8 |
| October 15, 2026 | Original deadline for the government's response | 1 |
| November 16, 2026 | Extended deadline for the government's response | 1 |
| June 2027 | Current term ends; a ruling could come if review is granted | 3 |
What happened
- The petition makes two arguments: that lower courts weighed evidence indicating victims lost money, and that the $11 billion forfeiture violates the Eighth Amendment ban on excessive fines.
- The Second Circuit's June 2026 decision reiterated the prosecutors' position that it was immaterial whether Bankman-Fried had the funds and planned to repay FTX's victims.
- Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony fraud counts over the misuse of customer funds and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- If the court grants review, it could rule in the term ending June 2027 or in the one that begins a year from now.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint The hearing decision waits on the government's Nov. 16 reply, and a merits ruling falls in 2027 or later. Any change in his position through this route is months away.
- Who has to decide decision Bankman-Fried runs a court track with dates and a pardon track with none. A plan built on the court calendar alone misses an outcome that can arrive on any day.
- What it sets up precedent A grant would set Kousisis, which the petition says allows long sentences without pecuniary harm, against the older Carpenter line that his lawyers prefer.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Bini rates the new-trial odds low and the Carpenter argument uphill, yet calls the $11 billion forfeiture interesting. On that reading, the petition's two arguments carry unequal weight.
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The extension is 32 days, Oct. 15 to Nov. 16 [14]. Two decisions stand between the petition and any new trial. The first, whether to hear the case, could come in late 2026 or early 2027 [2]. Only after a grant does the second begin, with a ruling in the term ending June 2027 or the one after [3]. By our count that puts any merits ruling in 2027 or later [15].
The pardon has no such sequence. Bankman-Fried is seeking one from President Trump while pursuing the court [4]. Cointelegraph describes the decision as one that may never come [5], and the outlet links a report that the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution opposing clemency [6]. We see three ways this goes: the government answers on Nov. 16 and the court declines the case early in 2027; the court takes the case and rules in the term ending June 2027 or the one after; or a pardon arrives without notice and makes both moot. We would plan on the slow path, with the petition a 2027 event and the pardon undated. That view is wrong if the justices move faster than Cointelegraph's window, or if a pardon lands before Nov. 16.
On the merits, Jeffrey Fisher of Hecker Fink LLP, who represents Bankman-Fried at the court, puts the issue in one sentence. "Our whole point is the theory the government chose makes it irrelevant whether any customers lost money or, if so, how much," Fisher said [11]. The Second Circuit treated the same fact as the end of the argument. In June 2026 it wrote that customers "were defrauded as soon as Bankman-Fried transferred their money to Alameda regardless of how strongly he believed he might later return the money" [9].
The petition also has to get around Kousisis. It says the court held in 2025 that prosecutors can seek decades-long sentences where people are induced to part with money, even without pecuniary harm [12]. As the better fit, it offers a 2007 First Circuit ruling, United States v. Carpenter [13]. Mark Bini, a Reed Smith partner and former federal and state prosecutor, told Cointelegraph that the chance of the court accepting the arguments and granting a new trial "seems low" [16]. He called leaning on Carpenter over Kousisis an "uphill battle" but found the forfeiture question "really interesting" at $11 billion [17].
What to watch
- Whether the government files its response by Nov. 16 or the date moves again.
- The justices' decision on whether to hear the case, which Cointelegraph says could land in late 2026 or early 2027.
- Any White House action on Bankman-Fried's pardon request, which has no scheduled decision date.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence58
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Claim ledger
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- [1]
The Supreme Court initially gave the US government until Oct. 15 to respond to Bankman-Fried's petition, then granted an extension to Nov. 16.
- [2]
The extension could allow the justices to decide whether to hear the case in late 2026 or early 2027.
- [3]
If the court grants review, it could issue a decision in the current term, which ends in June 2027, or during its next term, which begins a year from now.
- [4]
Bankman-Fried is pursuing the high court's review while also seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump.
- [5]
Cointelegraph describes the presidential pardon decision Bankman-Fried awaits as one that may never come.
- [6]
Cointelegraph links a related report headlined 'US Senate unanimously adopts resolution opposing clemency for SBF'.
- [7]
The petition makes two main arguments: that lower courts weighed evidence indicating victims lost money, and that the $11 billion forfeiture order violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on excessive fines.
- [8]
The Second Circuit's June 2026 decision reiterated the prosecutors' position that it was immaterial as a matter of law whether Bankman-Fried had the funds and planned to repay FTX's victims.
- [9]
The Second Circuit said in its June 2026 decision: 'As the district court made clear, FTX customers were defrauded as soon as Bankman-Fried transferred their money to Alameda regardless of how strongly he believed he might later return the money.'
- [10]
Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony fraud counts related to the misuse of customer funds by FTX, sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture.
- [11]
Jeffrey Fisher of Hecker Fink LLP, counsel for Bankman-Fried, said: 'Our whole point is the theory the government chose makes it irrelevant whether any customers lost money or, if so, how much,'
- [12]
The petition says the Supreme Court ruled in Kousisis v. United States in 2025 that prosecutors could seek decades-long prison sentences anytime people are induced by misrepresentations to part with their money, even if they suffer no pecuniary harm.
- [13]
Bankman-Fried's lawyers argue the 2007 First Circuit ruling in United States v. Carpenter, involving a defendant who intended all along to ensure customers suffered no financial losses, is more applicable to the FTX case.
- [14]
The extension from Oct. 15 to Nov. 16 is 32 days.
- [15]
Any Supreme Court merits ruling in the case would fall in 2027 or later.
- [16]
Mark Bini, a former federal and state prosecutor and partner at Reed Smith, told Cointelegraph he believed the chance that the court would accept Bankman-Fried's arguments and grant a new trial 'seems low'.
- [17]
Bini called the conditions around forfeiture 'really interesting' given the $11 billion size, and called reliance on Carpenter instead of Kousisis an 'uphill battle' legally.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comSam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer lays out ex-FTX CEO’s Supreme Court case
1 article · October 14, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comSBF’s Supreme Court appeal challenges conviction evidence and $11B forfeiture
1 article · October 14, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- US Supreme Court
- Crypto litigation
Entities
- US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Alameda Research
- Cointelegraph
- Sam Bankman-Fried
- FTX