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

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has pulled his request for a new trial due to concerns that he would not receive a fair hearing, as stated in a letter to the presiding judge. Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison term after being found guilty on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, indicated that he might refile the motion after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment. The motion for a new trial was initially filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, citing the emergence of new evidence that could warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried revealed that he had largely drafted the motion himself while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with limited assistance. Although he acknowledged being the primary author of the letter to the judge, he sought input from his lawyers and family members, as they were also affected by the case. Bankman-Fried explained that they provided editorial and organizational suggestions, some of which he incorporated into the motion, and also assisted with printing it due to his lack of access to a word processor. He shared earlier drafts with a New York attorney who was initially hired to represent him on the Rule 33 Motion before deciding to represent himself, but noted that the attorney had no significant input into the final motion. A Rule 33 motion is a formal request to a federal court for a new trial 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 his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during oral arguments in November that the trial was inherently unfair, including restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.