Sam Bankman-Fried Requests New Trial in New Appeal Filing

Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, alleges that he was mistried during the last court proceeding, requesting a new hearing in his latest appeal filing.

The lawyer representing disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed the court ruling against his client, seeking a new trial. In a 102-page filing at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday, Alexandra Shapiro tied the request to reassess the case to presumptuous judgment.

In the appeal, the defendant argued that Bankman-Fried was judged begrudgingly by the presiding judge, Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Shapiro cited a bias by all involved parties during this client’s sentencing, including the media, FTX debtor estate, and federal prosecutors.

The FTX co-founder was found guilty by the jury of all seven charges against him and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Bankman-Fried was found guilty of defrauding FTX customers, leading to the collapse of the US-based crypto exchange.

SBF Faults Judge

According to the appeal, Judge Kaplan prevented Bankman-Fried from telling the jury his account of the event while allowing the prosecutor to cross-examine him on matters outside the context of the case. Shapiro stated that these uneven privileges caused the jury to see “half the picture” of the FTX collapse.

The defendant also claimed that his client was unlawfully denied access to Brady materials. Shapiro noted that the prosecutors claimed they didn’t possess information that could exonerate Bankman-Fried from his charges, and the court failed to order them to provide one.

SBF Insists FTX was Insolvent

Part of Bankman-Fried’s appeal was based on FTX’s insolvency. His defense team argued that the ease in recovering assets for customer settlement proved that the exchange was solvent and had sufficient assets to fund user withdrawals.

Furthermore, the defendant asserted that allegations of Bankman-Fried confiscating customer funds for political donations and personal use were false. He noted that the recovered funds proved that the customer’s assets were intact and would be repaid during the bankruptcy proceedings.

Shapiro stated that the judge prevented the defendant’s lawyers from presenting these arguments, which could have changed the course of the case. He also noted that Bankman-Fried was forced to file for bankruptcy prematurely by John Ray and the law firm Sullivan and Cromwell.

Bankman-Fried remains the only executive of FTX and Alameda that has failed to accept charges against him. Caroline Elizabeth, Ryan Salame, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang have all pleaded guilty to their charges. Prosecutors failed in their 50-year sentencing plea during trial for what they described as the largest fraud in the last decade.

Notably, FTX creditors would receive 100% reimbursement of their stakes in the firm at their values when the exchange filed for bankruptcy. Although they would be made whole, the value of their assets has increased significantly since then. Assets like Bitcoin and Solana traded at $16,871 and $16.25, respectively, during the November 2022 bankruptcy filing.