Federal Judge Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried's New Trial Request, Calls Evidence 'Baseless'

In February, Sam Bankman-Fried claimed to have uncovered new evidence that could prove he never intended to defraud customers of his bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. On April 23, a federal judge rejected that assertion as "baseless" and denied his request for a new trial.

This decision dealt a significant blow to Bankman-Fried’s efforts to overturn his 2023 conviction on multiple fraud charges and avoid a 25-year prison sentence. In addition to seeking a new trial, Bankman-Fried has filed an appeal of his conviction and pursued a high-profile campaign for a presidential pardon. However, reports indicate that President Donald Trump is not expected to grant clemency to the disgraced crypto entrepreneur. A decision on his appeal is anticipated in the coming weeks.

Missed Court Deadlines and Self-Representation Claims

Earlier in April, Bankman-Fried missed two critical court deadlines. The first required a response to prosecutors’ nearly 50-page opposition to his new trial request. The second required him to confirm, as he had claimed, that he was representing himself—a request made by the judge after prosecutors suggested Bankman-Fried may have received outside assistance.

In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan filed on April 22—one week after both deadlines had passed—Bankman-Fried asserted that he was the "ultimate author" of his new trial request. However, he also asked for permission to withdraw the request "without prejudice," which would allow him to refile it at a later date.

"I do not believe I will get a fair hearing on this topic in front of you," he wrote to the judge.

Kaplan presided over Bankman-Fried’s 2023 trial, and the former billionaire has repeatedly argued that the judge exhibited bias in favor of the prosecution. This complaint was formally raised in September 2024, when Bankman-Fried appealed his conviction and requested that any new trial be assigned to a different judge. That appeal was heard by a three-judge panel in November 2024.

"The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried was fundamentally unfair, because the jury only got to hear one side of the story—the prosecutors’ side," his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued before the panel. "The prosecutors proclaimed that billions had been lost forever. This was false."

As of now, the outcome of that appeal remains pending. In his April 22 letter, Bankman-Fried indicated he may file another request for a new trial after the appellate judges issue their decision.

Judge Kaplan Delivers Scathing Rejection

Judge Kaplan’s order on April 23 was unequivocal. Not only did he deny Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial, but he also rejected it "with prejudice," permanently barring him from submitting a similar request in the future.

Kaplan criticized Bankman-Fried’s reasoning, writing that if the defendant believed the judge was biased, he should not have filed the motion in the first place. The judge also dismissed Bankman-Fried’s claim of newly discovered exonerating evidence as unconvincing.

"Bankman-Fried’s motion is based on three supposedly ‘newly discovered’ witnesses whose predicted testimony, he contends, warrants a new trial," Kaplan wrote. "Hogwash, the judge said. None of the witnesses, for example, is ‘newly discovered.’ Bankman-Fried well before trial knew all three of them."