Jailed former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a motion seeking a new trial, renewing his legal fight nearly a year after being convicted over the collapse of the once-prominent cryptocurrency exchange.
The request was submitted Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to court records, the motion was filed on Bankman-Fried’s behalf by his mother and includes a memorandum written by Bankman-Fried himself. In the filing, he accuses the U.S. Department of Justice of withholding evidence and asks that the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, be removed from the case.
Bankman-Fried argues that the prosecution was built on what he describes as false claims that he stole customer funds, leaving FTX users with massive losses. The filing states that, since the trial, several potential defense witnesses have alleged they were pressured by federal prosecutors not to testify on his behalf.
This is not Bankman-Fried’s first attempt to overturn the verdict. He filed a formal appeal in November 2024, though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has not yet ruled on that request.
In November 2023, a New York jury found Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven criminal counts, including fraud against customers, lenders, and investors. Prosecutors described the case as one of the largest financial frauds in recent history, drawing comparisons to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Bankman-Fried founded both FTX and its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research, which prosecutors said played a central role in the misuse of customer funds. He was later sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.
Despite the conviction, Bankman-Fried has consistently maintained that FTX was not insolvent. In the latest filing, he argues that the exchange had enough assets to repay customers in full and that its downfall stemmed from a sudden liquidity crunch triggered by a surge of withdrawals.
“FTX always had sufficient assets to repay customer deposits in full,” he wrote, characterizing the collapse as a short-term crisis rather than a fundamental failure.
The motion also includes proposed testimony from former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame and former FTX data science head Daniel Chapsky. Bankman-Fried claims both individuals were fearful of testifying at trial. According to the filing, Chapsky would have disputed claims that customer losses were unrecoverable, while Salame would have challenged portrayals of Bankman-Fried’s lifestyle, including assertions that he frequently traveled by private jet.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has not commented publicly on the new motion.
Separately, Bankman-Fried has continued to comment on his case through posts on X made via a proxy. In recent messages, he has drawn parallels between his prosecution and other high-profile legal cases, framing them as politically motivated. He has also sought a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, though the former president said last month that he has no plans to grant one.
13) Biden's lawfare machine tried to silence the truth.
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 9, 2026
Because the truth is that they were playing politics, not justice.
Same story with @realDonaldTrump; with @rsalame7926; with me; with @JuanOrlandoH; and with so many others.
As the court reviews the latest filing, Bankman-Fried’s legal future remains uncertain. Whether the motion gains traction or not, it underscores his ongoing effort to challenge a conviction that reshaped the cryptocurrency industry and remains one of its most closely watched legal battles.
