Judge Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bid for Retrial, Calls Move Reputation Repair Effort

A federal judge in Manhattan has turned down former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a fresh trial, ruling that his arguments failed to present any legitimate new evidence.

The decision was issued by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s 2023 criminal trial and later handed him a 25-year prison sentence in 2024. In the ruling, the judge stated that claims involving new witnesses and evidence were unsupported.

Kaplan wrote that the filing seemed less about legal grounds and more like an attempt to rebuild Bankman-Fried’s damaged reputation following the collapse of FTX.

Earlier this year, Bankman-Fried personally submitted the unusual motion for a retrial without involving his legal team, while his appeal against conviction and sentencing was already under review by a higher court. He also requested that any new proceedings be handled by a different judge.

Later, he sought to withdraw the motion, arguing that he did not expect an impartial hearing before Kaplan. The judge declined that request as well, leaving the denial in place.

Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as his broader appeal process continues.