Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Request for New Trial Due to Fairness Concerns

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pulled his request for a retrial, citing doubts about receiving an impartial hearing, as stated in a letter to the presiding judge. Currently serving a 25-year sentence for multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, Bankman-Fried indicated he might refile the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment. The motion for a new trial, initially filed by his mother Barbara Fried, claimed that newly discovered evidence would warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried, who drafted the motion himself with limited assistance while in detention, consulted with his lawyers and family members, incorporating some of their suggestions. He shared earlier drafts with a New York attorney but noted they had minimal input. The 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 fundamentally biased, including restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.