US prosecutors have asked a federal judge to deny a new trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, arguing that the disgraced crypto entrepreneur has not shown any legal basis for overturning his conviction tied to the collapse of FTX.
Summary
- US prosecutors asked a court to deny Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial.
- They argue he failed to prove his conviction tied to FTX was unjust.
- Bankman-Fried previously claimed new witnesses could challenge the prosecution’s case about the exchange’s finances.
According to a report by Bloomberg, prosecutors told the court that Bankman-Fried’s motion fails to demonstrate that his original trial was unfair or that new evidence would meaningfully alter the verdict.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on fraud and conspiracy charges related to the downfall of FTX and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.
In February, Bankman-Fried filed a motion requesting a new trial, arguing that newly available testimony from former FTX executives could undermine the prosecution’s narrative about the exchange’s financial condition.
The filing claimed that additional witnesses might refute the government’s argument that customer funds were misused and that the exchange faced a multibillion-dollar deficit.
Bankman-Fried also alleged that some testimony presented during the original proceedings was misleading and said the new evidence could demonstrate that FTX was experiencing a temporary liquidity crisis rather than insolvency.
The retrial request was submitted under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows courts to order a new trial if it is deemed necessary “in the interest of justice.”
Prosecutors say arguments lack merit
Prosecutors pushed back strongly in their latest filing, stating that Bankman-Fried’s arguments do not meet the legal threshold required for granting a new trial.
They argued that the proposed witnesses either do not qualify as new evidence or would not materially change the outcome of the case. Prosecutors also maintained that the original trial included extensive testimony and documentation demonstrating that billions of dollars in customer funds were misappropriated.
As a result, they concluded that there is no justification to reopen the case, urging the judge to reject the request.
The dispute marks the latest chapter in the legal battle surrounding the dramatic collapse of FTX in 2022, which triggered one of the largest scandals in the history of the crypto industry.
Source: https://crypto.news/prosecutors-reject-sam-bankman-fried-bid-for-new-trial/