Sam Bankman-Fried, the former founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has retracted his plea for a retrial. He also attempted to separate his parents from recent legal maneuvers, as indicated in a letter received by Judge Lewis Kaplan’s chambers on Tuesday.
The communication was submitted in the Southern District of New York and authored by the former crypto executive while serving time at a low-security facility in Lompoc, California, approximately 3,000 miles from where he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024.
In his letter to Kaplan, Bankman-Fried admitted that drafts of the Rule 33 Motion were shared with his parents, Barbara Fried and Joe Bankman. They provided editorial suggestions which were occasionally adopted into the motion. He also mentioned their assistance in printing the document.
Bankman-Fried had previously filed a Rule 33 Motion in February, seeking retrial after being convicted for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme valued in billions in 2023. This motion argued that he faced indictment on false grounds, including accusations of misappropriating customer funds from FTX.
Notably, Bankman-Fried filed the motion pro se, indicating his self-representation as counsel. Kaplan responded with an order requiring clarification on whether Bankman-Fried had external legal assistance for the motion, cautioning him about potential perjury in his response.
A companion letter by his mother, a Stanford Law School professor, was part of the request. Fried noted she was authorized by her son to initiate proceedings due to his imprisonment.
“They didn’t significantly contribute to the final motion,” Bankman-Fried clarified for the judge. “I authored most documents myself, but I can’t predict your interpretation of the standards applied.”
Bankman-Fried stated that he is withdrawing the pro se motion because he feels a fair hearing on this matter in Kaplan’s court is unlikely. His appellate attorney had previously asserted that Bankman-Fried was deemed guilty at trial by Kaplan and others.
Again, Bankman-Fried confirmed receiving no assistance with the motion from his appellate lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, or other aides from his 2023 criminal trial.
President Donald Trump has pardoned several crypto entrepreneurs since his second term began, including Changpeng Zhao, former Binance CEO who pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering charges. However, Trump indicated in January that Bankman-Fried is unlikely to receive a pardon, according to The New York Times. His parents have sought legal counsel with connections to the president, as reported by Bloomberg.