FTX Founder Drops Request for New Trial, Citing Concerns Over Fairness

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally withdrawn his motion for a retrial, citing concerns that he may not receive a fair hearing. Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, indicated that he may refile the motion after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related request for the reassignment of his case. The initial motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence would warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried revealed that he had personally drafted the motion while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with minimal assistance. Although he acknowledged that his lawyers and family members provided editorial suggestions and helped with the printing of the motion, he emphasized that he was the primary author. The appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during oral arguments in November that the original trial was fundamentally unfair due to restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.