Judge denies Sam Bankman Fried’s request for a new trial

A federal judge has denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial, dealing a blow to the jailed FTX founder’s efforts to overturn his fraud conviction.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a scathing denial on Tuesday, rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claims that there were new witnesses whose testimony would require a new trial. “For example, none of the witnesses have been recently discovered,” Kaplan said books In his ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried “could have obtained their testimony or at least sought to compel it. But he did neither.”

The judge described the motion as part of a calculated effort to rehabilitate reputation, noting, “This motion appears to be part of a plan to salvage his reputation that was orchestrated by Bankman Fried and even committed to writing after FTX declared bankruptcy but before he was indicted,” according to court documents.

Bankman-Fried’s conviction and sentencing are pending before a federal appeals court in New York, but the FTX founder has also separately sought a retrial in a motion foot By his mother in February on his behalf. Although Bankman Fried withdraw Last week, claiming he would not get a fair hearing from Judge Kaplan, the court issued a formal refusal to close the matter.

He was the founder of FTX The alleged one That Nishad Singh, the company’s head of engineering, had changed his story after “threats from the government,” and that two other executives, Daniel Czapsky and Ryan Salama, would dispute the prosecution’s claims, but declined to testify for fear of retaliation.

Judge Kaplan stated in his filing that Bankman-Fried’s assertions that the absence of witnesses was due to “government threats and retaliation” were “largely conspiratorial and completely inconsistent with the record.”

Government prosecutors had already expressed strong opposition to the request for a retrial before withdrawing it. “The defense’s decision not to include witnesses on its witness list or force them to testify precludes any claim that their post-trial opinions were newly discovered,” US prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors specifically took issue with Bankman-Fried’s suggestion that FTX’s current reorganization efforts somehow proved his innocence. At one point, the exchange held just 105 BTC against customer claims approaching 100,000 BTC, the filing noted. “The most aggressive claim in the motion — that FTX was able to repay its debts, that customers have since been recovered, and that the claim was therefore based on a lie — is factually false, legally irrelevant, and grossly misleading,” prosecutors stated.

SBF’s legal battles

The denial represents the latest chapter in the legal saga that began with the FTX drama November 2022 crash. Sam Bankman Fried was charged Multiple charges Charged with fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, prosecutors alleged he embezzled billions of dollars in client funds from his stock exchange to cover losses at his trading firm Alameda Research and fund political donations and luxury purchases.

for him Convicted on all charges November 2023 marks one of the most important white collar trials in modern history, with 25 year sentence Which reflects the extent of the alleged fraud.

Bankman-Fried has pursued multiple strategies since his conviction, Demand a new trial After his lawyer was fired in February, while a letter was submitted to the court in his name but written by his mother unacceptable By Judge Kaplan a month later. President Trump has Pardon excluded For the founder of FTX, which limits his options for early release.