Pro-XRP advocate John Deaton is calling for the indictment of Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents following reports that they are lobbying for a pardon for their son from former President Donald Trump. Deaton insists that Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the parents of the disgraced FTX co-founder, took customer funds swindled from the crypto exchange.
In a post on X today, Deaton replied to a news update regarding Bankman Fried’s parents plea to the 47th US President saying: “Funny, because I’m seeking an indictment of them.”
Polymarkets predictions are saying the prisoned American entrepreneur has a 6% chance of receiving a pardon from Trump.
SBF's parents are reportedly seeking a pardon for their son.
Odds Trump gives him one just tripled to 6%. pic.twitter.com/VJYKcD20ui
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) January 30, 2025
Per a recent Bloomberg report, the Bankman-Fried family is actively working to secure a presidential pardon for their son. SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors and customers through the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Joseph and Barbara have been meeting with lawyers and influential figures close to Trump in recent weeks, exploring the possibility of clemency for their son.
Pro-XRP Lawyer Deaton: SBF’s parents should be arrested
Deaton argues that Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents knowingly benefited from the “millions of dollars” of stolen FTX funds given to them by the former CEO.
In late November 2024, through a heated X post, Deaton explained that Joseph Bankman, a tax law professor at Sanford University, was involved in drafting tax policies for Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign. He also pointed out Barbara Fried ran Mind the Gap, a super PAC supporting progressive candidates.
The US Army veteran insinuated that they, together with their son Sam, had access to the US Congress during President Biden’s tenure. According to Deaton, this provided a table for the family to walk away with customer funds to build “Bahamian luxury real estate in their names.”
“Why haven’t SBF’s parents faced criminal charges?” he reckoned.
Bankman-Fried could use political influences to win Presidential pardon
It remains unclear whether the Bankmans have made direct outreach to the White House. Their wishful thinking seemingly springs from Trump’s recent order to pardon Silk Road co-founder Ross Ulbricht. The US President cleared Ulbricht from serving a life sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering.
In an interview with Fox Business in 2022, Deaton admitted that Ulbricht had done “far less” than Bankman-Fried, but received two life sentences of over forty years in prison.
John Deaton lays out the legal reasons why @SBF_FTX should have been arrested by now, and what answers @andrewrsorkin needs to press him on in their interview👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/4JqIY8Qt3L
— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) November 30, 2022
Public defendants believe Bankman-Fried’s case lacks the same level of public support that Ulbricht’s pardon received. His defense has centered around the argument that his sentence is “excessive,” given that most FTX customers have recovered the majority of their funds.
Jeffrey Grant, who operates a legal and advisory firm in New York specializing in white-collar defense, told Bloomberg that “white collar prisoners” serving life sentences are seeking political “weight” to push for their release.
“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.”
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