Choose Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried's Bid for New Trial

A Manhattan federal decide has denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s movement for a brand new trial, calling the request baseless and an obvious technique to salvage his repute. Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of collapsed crypto change FTX, is presently serving a 25-year jail sentence for fraud and cash laundering expenses.

Choose Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s authentic trial in late 2023, issued the ruling on April 28, 2026. He dismissed claims of newly found proof involving three former FTX executives—Ryan Salame, Daniel Chapsky, and Nishad Singh—stating that the protection already knew about these witnesses earlier than the trial. Kaplan additional criticized the movement as “wildly conspiratorial” and unsupported by the document.

The request for a brand new trial had been uncommon from the beginning. Bankman-Fried filed it in February 2026 with out consulting his authorized group, at the same time as his attraction in opposition to his conviction and sentence remained pending. He later tried to withdraw the movement after accusing Choose Kaplan of bias, a request the decide additionally denied.

Bankman-Fried’s authorized troubles stem from the November 2022 collapse of FTX, as soon as one of many largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform crumbled after revelations that billions of {dollars} in buyer funds have been secretly transferred to Alameda Analysis, a buying and selling agency additionally based by Bankman-Fried. The ensuing liquidity disaster triggered a run on withdrawals that FTX couldn’t fulfill, resulting in its chapter and the lack of billions in person deposits.

In November 2023, a jury convicted Bankman-Fried on all seven expenses in opposition to him, together with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was sentenced the next March to 25 years in jail and ordered to forfeit $11 billion. Efforts to get well property for FTX collectors stay ongoing, with a U.S. court docket ruling in August 2024 that the change should pay $12.7 billion to compensate prospects and victims.

The FTT token, as soon as the cornerstone of FTX’s ecosystem, has turn into a shadow of its former self. As of April 29, 2026, FTT is buying and selling at simply $0.29, a far cry from its peak above $80 in 2021. The token’s market cap now stands at $95.5 million, reflecting its diminished standing and the broader fallout from FTX’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried’s failed movement for a brand new trial is unlikely to change his trajectory, however it underscores the lingering controversies surrounding his case. FTX’s implosion stays a cautionary story for the crypto business, highlighting the dangers of opaque monetary practices and poor company governance.

For collectors and former customers, the main target now shifts to ongoing chapter proceedings. Any restoration of funds depends upon the liquidation of remaining FTX property, together with the potential sale of the property’s FTT holdings, although their worth provides restricted reduction at present costs.

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