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

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally withdrawn his motion for a retrial, expressing doubts about receiving an impartial hearing. Currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, Bankman-Fried indicated that he might reconsider his motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for the case to be reassigned. The initial motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, citing the emergence of new evidence that could warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried revealed that he personally drafted the motion while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, albeit with limited assistance. Although he sought input from his lawyers and family members, he maintained that he was the primary author of the letter to the judge. The motion was filed under Rule 33, a federal court procedure allowing for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence or in the interests of justice. Bankman-Fried's appeal is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during November's oral hearings that the original trial was fundamentally flawed, including restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.