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Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has rescinded his request for a retrial due to concerns that he would not receive a fair hearing, as stated in a letter to the presiding judge. Currently serving a 25-year sentence for seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, Bankman-Fried indicated that he might reinstate the motion after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related petition for reassignment. The initial motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, citing newly discovered evidence that could warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried drafted the motion himself while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with minimal assistance. Although he sought input from his lawyers and parents, he maintained that he was the primary author of the letter to the judge. Bankman-Fried's appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued in November that the trial was inherently unfair, including restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.