Bankman-Fried Drops Request for New Trial, Citing Concerns Over Fairness

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has rescinded his motion for a retrial, citing doubts about receiving an impartial hearing. In a letter to the presiding judge, Bankman-Fried expressed his intention to potentially renew the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment have been determined. Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year sentence for multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, had initially filed the motion through his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence warranted a retrial. While Bankman-Fried took primary responsibility for drafting the motion during his detention, he acknowledged consulting with his lawyers and family members, who provided editorial suggestions and assistance with printing the document. The motion for a new trial, filed under Rule 33, is a formal request for a federal court to reconsider a case based on new evidence or in the interest of justice. The appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where Bankman-Fried's attorney argued that the original trial was fundamentally unfair due to limitations on the evidence presented to the jury.