U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s motion for a new trial in the FTX criminal case, rejecting the defense’s claims of newly discovered evidence and alleged government interference. The ruling keeps Bankman-Fried’s conviction and 25-year sentence intact at the district-court level and shifts the center of the legal fight to the Second Circuit appeal.
Kaplan also refused the defense’s attempt to withdraw the filing before a ruling was issued. That decision ensured the court addressed the substance of the motion rather than allowing the defense to avoid an adverse merits ruling or preserve procedural flexibility.
Kaplan Rejects Claims of New Evidence
The judge dismissed the core arguments in the motion, describing claims around newly disclosed witnesses and government interference as “baseless” and “wildly conspiratorial.” He specifically rejected the argument that testimony from former FTX executives, including Ryan Salame and Daniel Chapsky, qualified as newly discovered evidence.
Kaplan found that the defense had long known about those individuals and their potential testimony before trial. On that basis, he concluded the motion did not meet the legal standard required to disturb the jury’s verdict.
The opinion framed the filing as an attempt to relitigate issues already covered by the trial record, rather than introduce genuinely new material. The court treated the existing record as controlling, limiting the defense’s ability to revive speculative claims after conviction.
Appeal Becomes the Main Legal Path
With the district-court motion denied, Bankman-Fried’s primary path now runs through the Second Circuit, where his direct appeal of the conviction and sentence is already pending. A separate request seeking Kaplan’s recusal on bias grounds remains unresolved, but it stands alongside, not ahead of, the broader appellate fight.
The defense could attempt to refile a Rule 33 motion, but only if judicial reassignment or an appellate ruling materially changes the case’s posture. For now, the trial court has closed a major post-verdict avenue.
The ruling also reinforces procedural finality. By denying both the new-trial motion and the withdrawal request, Kaplan narrowed the defense’s tactical options and reduced the likelihood that district-court filings will delay appellate review.
The next meaningful test is appellate scrutiny of the trial record. The Second Circuit’s handling of the case will determine whether the conviction and sentence remain undisturbed or whether any part of the FTX prosecution is reopened.
