Following his conviction on federal fraud charges on Nov. 2, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will not pursue any post-trial motions.
In a Dec. 1 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers representing Bankman-Fried said they had “decided not to file any post-trial motions” but reserved their rights to pursue claims on appeal. The filing was the latest following SBF’s conviction on Nov. 2 as he awaits sentencing on March 28.
It’s unclear whether prosecutors plan to move forward with Bankman-Fried’s second trial in March. The former FTX CEO’s indictment was split in order for him to face 7 counts in October and 5 charges in March, but following a guilty verdict in November, SBF could already be looking at decades behind bars.
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After the jury verdict was handed down, Bankman-Fried returned to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is expected to remain until sentencing. On Nov. 30, crypto blogger Tiffany Fong interviewed a former mob enforcer, Gene Borrello, who reported on some of SBF’s experiences in jail. Borrello claimed another inmate attempted to extort the former FTX CEO.
Bankman-Fried was one of the first high-profile crypto executives to face criminal charges in the United States. Authorities arrested former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in July, and at the time of publication, he remains free on bail until his September 2024 criminal trial. Changpeng Zhao, who stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty to one felony charge as part of a settlement between U.S. officials and Binance, will be sentenced in February.
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Lennon Esparza