Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and misuse of customer funds, has formally withdrawn a motion requesting a new trial in his criminal case. The decision was made in a Wednesday filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The withdrawal came in response to an inquiry from Judge Lewis Kaplan, who had ordered Bankman-Fried to clarify whether he received legal assistance for a pro se motion—a filing made on his own behalf without an attorney. This followed concerns from US prosecutors about the independence of a March filing for an extension to request a new trial, which was submitted just days after his mother, Barbara Fried, sent a letter to the court on his behalf despite lacking legal standing.
In his filing, Bankman-Fried stated, "I am the author of this letter, but did consult with my parents about it, since it concerns both of them." He explained his decision to withdraw the Rule 33 motion for a new trial, saying, "As I have had to focus on responding to these questions rather than drafting a response to the prosecution's opposition, and because I do not believe I will get a fair hearing on this topic in front of you, I am now requesting to withdraw the Rule 33 motion, without prejudice to renewing it after my direct appeal and the related request for reassignment have been ruled upon."
Despite dropping the new trial motion, Bankman-Fried's broader legal challenges remain active. He continues to await a ruling on his appeal of both his conviction and sentence at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Furthermore, a separate request from February for a different judge to oversee his case—alleging Judge Kaplan showed "extreme prejudice"—is still pending. Neither the appeal nor the judge reassignment request is affected by the withdrawal of the new trial motion.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on charges related to the massive fraud that led to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc I, in California. His legal filings have included claims that the US Justice Department under President Joe Biden "threatened multiple witnesses into silence or into changing their testimony" during his trial.
The prospect of a presidential pardon appears dim. While Bankman-Fried has publicly signaled interest in seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, the former president stated in a January interview with The New York Times that he had no intention of pardoning the convicted FTX founder.
