Judge Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried's New Trial Request, Calls Claims 'Wildly Conspiratorial'

Gate News message, April 28 — U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Sam Bankman-Fried's request for a new trial on Tuesday, criticizing the former FTX CEO's new evidence as "baseless" and his claims as "wildly conspiratorial." Bankman-Fried had argued that newly discovered evidence demonstrated FTX was solvent and accused the Justice Department of withholding information.

In his motion filed in February, Bankman-Fried claimed he should have had testimony from FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame and former FTX data science head Daniel Chapsky, asserting both were intimidated by government threats. Judge Kaplan countered that Bankman-Fried "could have obtained or at least sought to compel their testimony" but did neither. Salame was sentenced to 90 months in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to criminal charges.

Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on all seven criminal counts of defrauding FTX customers, lenders, and investors, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Judge Kaplan also criticized Bankman-Fried's attempts to garner public support through interviews with author Michael Lewis and commentator Tucker Carlson, noting his claims had "been seen before. Many times." Last week, Bankman-Fried withdrew the motion, stating he would not receive a fair hearing from Judge Kaplan; an appeal remains pending. He has sought a pardon from President Donald Trump, who said he has no plans to grant one.