Judge Kaplan Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried's New Trial Request, Calls Evidence 'Wildly Conspiratorial'

Gate News message, April 29 — U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial on Tuesday, dismissing his evidence as “baseless” and criticizing his claims as “wildly conspiratorial.” Bankman-Fried had argued that newly discovered evidence showed FTX was solvent at the time of its collapse.

In his written order, Judge Kaplan addressed Bankman-Fried’s assertion that key witnesses—including FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame and former FTX data science head Daniel Chapsky—were prevented from testifying due to government threats and retaliation. “He could have obtained or at least sought to compel their testimony,” Judge Kaplan wrote. “But he did neither. His assertion that their absence was a product of government threats and retaliation is wildly conspiratorial and entirely contradicted by the record.”

Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on all seven counts of defrauding FTX customers, lenders, and investors, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ryan Salame was separately sentenced in 2024 to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to criminal charges. Bankman-Fried has sought a pardon from President Donald Trump, but Trump has stated he has no plans to grant one. The judge also criticized Bankman-Fried’s efforts to build public support through interviews with author Michael Lewis and political commentator Tucker Carlson, noting that his claimed “facts” have been presented multiple times before.