Sam Bankman-Fried appeals for new trial over FTX’s fraud case

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a pro se motion for a new trial of the firm’s bankruptcy case, for which he already serves a 25-year sentence. He argued that new witnesses can refute the prosecution’s case that he defrauded the exchange’s customers.

The pro se motion, meaning SBF is representing himself, was filed on February 5 but was docketed today in Manhattan federal court. SBF’s mother, Barbara Fried, who is a retired Stanford Law Professor, sent the motion to the clerk. The motion is also separate from Bankman-Fried’s appeal of his 2023 conviction.

Could FTX’s previous executives save SBF’s trial case trajectory? 

Barbara revealed that the appeal has been in the works for a long time. She also disclosed that SBF planned to write the motion in his own voice.

SBF’s motion is currently being considered by a three-judge appeals panel. Bankman-Fried claims that the trial judge’s previous ruling tainted the verdict. During a November hearing, the judges also appeared skeptical of his lawyer’s arguments.

Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven criminal counts, including fraud and conspiracy. He told U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the trial, that he illegally transferred billions of dollars from FTX customer accounts to the firm’s affiliate, Alameda Research. Risky investments by the affiliated hedge fund contributed to FTX’s collapse.

SBF stated in his appeal that two former FTX executives who didn’t testify at trial, Daniel Chapsky and Ryan Salame, could refute the prosecution’s narrative about the firm’s financial status at the time. However, Salame had previously pleaded guilty and received a 7½ prison sentence.

SBF claimed on Monday that Salame had evidence backed up with emails, memos, and legal work. He argued that the recent administration couldn’t let Salame present the evidence, and instead threatened his pregnant fiancée to force him to plead guilty.

Salame also revealed on February 2 that there was no mention of prosecutors explicitly advising the executives that Alameda didn’t need U.S. money-transmitting licenses for the non-U.S. work. He claimed that’s what got him to prison.

Shapiro also stated during SBF’s appeal hearing that Kaplan had wrongly prevented the defense from telling jurors about FTX’s financial position. He claimed that the crypto exchange had ample funds to repay investors, despite its 2022 collapse.

Kaplan also prevented SBF’s lawyers from presenting evidence about the advice they had given the former CEO. The incident occurred after an unusual hearing in which a judge put Bankman-Fried on the stand for 3 hours to preview his proposed testimony, without a jury present.

SBF calls for a different judge for his new trial

Sam Bankman-Fried has requested a different judge to be assigned to consider his motion for a new trial. He argued that Kaplan had demonstrated manifest prejudice toward him. 

SBF also claimed that the Biden administration threw bogus charges at him and prevented the executives from responding to make the charges stick. He also argued that the Biden administration hated him because they hated crypto, and he was one of the faces of crypto in the U.S. 

SBF believes the Biden administration hated him because he was a former Democratic donor who turned and started donating to Republicans. He added that the administration didn’t like his ties to the former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Gensler.

The former FTX CEO also revealed that his prosecutor, Sassoon, who was later fired under Trump, wrote a 70-page document on all the evidence that the administration didn’t want the jury to see.

SBF has also been seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump. Trump said earlier this year that he has no intention of freeing the former FTX CEO.

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