Federal prosecutors have asked a U.S. court to dismiss Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempt to secure a new trial, arguing that the FTX founder’s claims about his collapsed crypto exchange and the circumstances surrounding his conviction are unsupported and misleading.
In a filing submitted Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan, government attorneys said Bankman-Fried’s self-written motion for a new trial fails to meet the legal standards required to overturn his conviction, according to Law360.
The former cryptocurrency executive is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being found guilty of defrauding customers of the now-bankrupt FTX exchange.
Bankman-Fried submitted the motion last month without legal representation, writing it himself from a federal prison in California.
The request was filed separately from his ongoing appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where he is represented by counsel.
Dispute Over Claims That FTX Was Solvent
In his filing, Bankman-Fried argued that prosecutors intimidated potential witnesses who might have provided testimony supporting his defense.
According to him, those witnesses could have introduced new evidence suggesting the exchange was capable of repaying customer funds.
Prosecutors strongly disputed those assertions.
In their response, they said the individuals Bankman-Fried referenced were already known to his legal team before the trial and that none of the evidence he cited would have altered the jury’s verdict.
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Government attorneys also rejected Bankman-Fried’s repeated claim that FTX remained solvent at the time of its collapse.
They argued that the argument relies on accounting approaches that experts, restructuring professionals and the jury itself had already rejected during the trial proceedings.
The existence of other assets on FTX’s balance sheet, prosecutors said, does not demonstrate that the company held the cryptocurrency deposits customers believed were in their accounts.
FTX collapsed in November 2022 after it was revealed that customer funds had been mixed with assets at Alameda Research, a trading firm closely linked to Bankman-Fried. The liquidity crisis forced the exchange to halt withdrawals and ultimately file for bankruptcy.
During the 2023 trial, multiple former executives testified that Bankman-Fried directed the transfer of customer funds to Alameda Research, where the money was used for venture investments, political contributions and real estate purchases.
Prosecutors Dismiss Political Retribution Claims
Bankman-Fried has also argued that his prosecution was motivated by political retaliation linked to his criticism of government policy toward the cryptocurrency industry.
Prosecutors rejected that claim as unfounded, describing it as part of a broader effort by the former executive to reshape public perception of the case.
According to the government, documents allegedly written by Bankman-Fried after FTX’s collapse outlined a strategy to rebuild his reputation and potentially secure a presidential pardon.
The plan reportedly included shifting his political alignment and publicly criticizing the bankruptcy proceedings.
Prosecutors argued that the latest motion represents another step in that effort rather than a legitimate legal basis for reopening the case.
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