In short
- Sam Bankman-Fried has requested a brand new trial, days after firing his lawyer and opting to characterize himself.
- The disgraced FTX founder seems to be claiming to have newly found proof in his case worthy of a brand new trial.
- Bankman-Fried is at present serving a 25-year sentence on seven federal fraud and conspiracy costs.
Convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried formally requested a brand new trial in Manhattan on Tuesday, days after firing his legal professional.
The disgraced FTX founder is at present representing himself. Bankman-Fried had his mom, Stanford Regulation ethics professor Barbara Fried, file the movement for a brand new trial on his behalf.
The submitting, first reported by Interior Metropolis Press, requests a brand new trial below Rule 33 of the Federal Guidelines of Felony Process. That rule permits any defendant to request a brand new trial inside three years of receiving a responsible verdict, if the defendant claims to have found new proof of their case.
Requests for a brand new trial for any motive moreover newly found proof have to be filed inside 14 days of receiving a responsible verdict. Bankman-Fried was discovered responsible by a Manhattan jury over two years in the past on seven fraud and conspiracy costs.
He’s at present serving a 25-year jail sentence for his position within the implosion of crypto trade FTX—which was valued at $32 billion on the time of its 2022 collapse—and the misappropriation of $10 billion price of buyer funds.
In 2024, Bankman-Fried appealed his conviction, claiming he was “presumed responsible” by all concerned within the case, together with the media, prosecutors, the choose, and the FTX debtor property. On Friday, the crypto founder fired his appellate lawyer, Jason Driscoll, in accordance with courtroom filings.
It’s unclear what, if any, new proof Bankman-Fried might have found in his case that might doubtlessly result in a jury clearing his title.
The entrepreneur has made a number of posts on X in current weeks (by way of a proxy), targeted totally on alleging he was the sufferer of “lawfare” directed on the crypto trade by the Biden administration. Bankman-Fried has tried to align himself with President Donald Trump since Trump’s re-election, claiming each males had been accused of “bogus costs” by their political enemies.
Throughout Bankman-Fried’s 2023 trial, federal prosecutors disclosed a doc by which the FTX founder thought-about “com[ing] out as a Republican” as a way to keep away from culpability.
The technique has not confirmed profitable to this point. Trump advised the New York Occasions final month that he has no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried.
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