(Bloomberg) — FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s mom could have been a regulation professor at Stanford College. However the decide who sentenced her son to 25 years in jail stated she will be able to’t act on his behalf in his bid for a brand new trial.
On Monday, the decide made clear he received’t take into account letters, or a cellphone message to his chambers, from the previous crypto king’s mom, Barbara Fried. The discover stated that she had contacted the courtroom to request extra time for her son to file papers.
“The Court docket in fact understands that Ms. Fried is the defendant’s mom, was educated and practiced as a lawyer, and has taught at Stanford Legislation Faculty,” US District Decide Lewis Kaplan wrote. “Nonetheless, with no disrespect, she lacks standing to file papers or search aid on this case.”
Fried, who retired from Stanford in 2022, doesn’t serve on her son’s authorized workforce. However she has been concerned in his authorized proceedings, sending the courtroom the movement for a brand new trial and individually explored the right way to safe him a pardon from President Donald Trump, Bloomberg beforehand reported.
Bankman-Fried, 34, is serving time in a federal jail close to Los Angeles after his conviction in 2023 on a number of legal counts linked to the collapse of his cryptocurrency trade the earlier yr. The conviction is on attraction, however Bankman-Fried filed a movement final month on his personal — with out assist from his authorized workforce — claiming there’s new proof within the case and asking Kaplan for a brand new trial.
In his new-trial bid, Bankman-Fried claims he’s a sufferer of a “weaponized” Biden-era Justice Division — an argument that prosecutors have known as “incoherent.” Bankman-Fried has additionally requested for a brand new decide, saying Kaplan has demonstrated “manifest prejudice” towards him. The decide issued a lot of rulings proscribing Bankman-Fried’s protection arguments at trial.
Fried requested for an extension till April 1 for Bankman-Fried to answer to the federal government’s arguments. She stated he lacks phrase processing and entry to his information in jail, and might be out of contact whereas being moved to a distinct jail within the subsequent few weeks.
Within the new submitting, the courtroom stated it obtained a name from Bankman-Fried’s mother, or somebody figuring out themselves as her. Kaplan stated the courtroom “doesn’t settle for phone calls from litigants or from members of their households.”
The decide stated he’s extending the deadline till March 23, on his personal initiative, for Bankman-Fried or his legal professionals to hunt extra time, if desired.
The case is US v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-00673, US District Court docket, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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