Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, has formally requested a new trial in Manhattan, just days after dismissing his appellate attorney.
Currently serving a 25-year prison sentence, Bankman-Fried is now representing himself. The motion for a new trial was filed on his behalf by his mother, Barbara Fried, a Stanford Law ethics professor. The filing invokes Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows defendants to seek a new trial within three years of a guilty verdict if they claim to have discovered new evidence.
Rule 33 Motion and Legal Timeline
Under Rule 33, defendants must show that newly discovered evidence could reasonably lead to acquittal. Any request for a retrial based on other grounds must be filed within 14 days of conviction - a window that closed long ago for Bankman-Fried.
A Manhattan jury convicted him over two years ago on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, tied to the collapse of FTX in 2022. At the time of its implosion, the crypto exchange had been valued at $32 billion, making it one of the largest failures in crypto history.
Prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried misappropriated roughly $10 billion in customer funds, using them to plug losses at affiliated trading firm Alameda Research and to finance political donations and investments.
Appeal, Legal Shake-Up, and Self-Representation
In 2024, Bankman-Fried filed an appeal arguing he was “presumed guilty” by prosecutors, the judge, the media, and even the FTX bankruptcy estate. However, the new Rule 33 motion comes after he terminated his appellate lawyer, Jason Driscoll, according to court filings.
The exact nature of the “new evidence” cited in the motion remains unclear. Legal analysts note that courts rarely grant retrials under Rule 33 unless the new evidence is both material and likely to change the outcome of the case.
Political Messaging and Public Statements
In recent weeks, Bankman-Fried has also resurfaced publicly through posts on X made via a proxy. In those messages, he has alleged that he was the victim of “lawfare” targeting the crypto industry during the Biden administration.
He has attempted to draw parallels between his legal troubles and those faced by Donald Trump, claiming both were subject to politically motivated prosecutions. During his 2023 trial, however, federal prosecutors introduced a document showing that Bankman-Fried had considered “com[ing] out as a Republican” as a potential strategy to mitigate legal exposure.
What Happens Next?
The court will now review the motion to determine whether the alleged newly discovered evidence meets the stringent requirements of Rule 33. Given the scale of the case and the weight of evidence presented at trial, legal experts say the hurdle is extremely high.
If the motion is denied, Bankman-Fried will continue serving his sentence while pursuing any remaining appellate avenues. If granted - a rare outcome - it would reopen one of the most consequential criminal cases in crypto history.
For now, the former crypto mogul’s bid for a new trial adds another chapter to the fallout from FTX’s collapse - a case that reshaped regulatory scrutiny of the digital asset industry worldwide.
