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 grounds to overturn a conviction related to the FTX crash.
Conclusion
- The US Attorney’s Office has asked the court to deny Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial.
- They say he failed to prove that his FTX conviction was unfair.
- Bankman-Fried previously claimed that new witnesses could challenge the prosecution’s case about the stock exchange’s finances.
According to a Bloomberg report, prosecutors told the court that Bankman-Fried’s request does not show that her initial trial was unfair or that the new evidence would significantly change the verdict.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 of fraud and conspiracy charges related to the FTX crash and is currently serving 25 years in prison.
In February, Bankman-Fried filed a motion to request a new trial, arguing that newly available testimony from former FTX executives could undermine the prosecution’s report on the financial condition of the exchange.
The motion argued that additional witnesses could rebut the government’s argument that customer funds were misappropriated and the exchange ran into a multibillion-dollar deficit.
Bankman-Fried also claimed that some of the testimony presented during the original trial was misleading and said that the new evidence may indicate that FTX is experiencing a temporary liquidity crisis rather than bankruptcy.
The request for a new trial is filed under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows courts to order a new trial if “in the interest of justice” so requires.
Prosecutors say the evidence is unsubstantiated
Prosecutors strongly backtracked in their latest filing, arguing that Bankman-Fried’s evidence did not meet the legal threshold for a new trial.
They argued that the proposed witnesses would not be either new evidence or would not significantly change the outcome of the case. Prosecutors also argued that the original trial included extensive testimony and documents showing billions of dollars in customer funds were misappropriated.
As a result, they concluded that there is no reason to reopen the case and requested the judge to reject the request.
The dispute is the latest chapter in the legal battle surrounding the 2022 crash of FTX, which sparked one of the biggest scandals in the history of the crypto industry.
