Bankman-Fried’s Mom Told to Not Call Court on Son’s Behalf
(Bloomberg) — FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother may be a law professor at Stanford University. However, the judge who sentenced his son to 25 years in prison said that he could not act on his son’s behalf for a new trial.
On Monday, the judge made clear that he would not consider letters from the former crypto king’s mother, Barbara Fried, or phone messages sent to his apartment. The notice stated that her son contacted the court to request additional time to prepare the paperwork.
“The court understands, of course, that Ms. Fried is the defendant’s mother, that she was trained and practiced as a lawyer, and that she teaches at Stanford Law School,” U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote. “However, with all due respect, he does not have the authority to file paperwork or seek assistance in this case.”
Fried, who retires from Stanford in 2022, does not serve on his son’s legal team. But he was involved in her legal proceedings, sending the court a motion for a new trial and also exploring how to get a pardon from President Donald Trump, Bloomberg previously reported.
Bankman-Fried, 34, is serving a sentence in a federal prison near Los Angeles after being convicted in 2023 of multiple crimes linked to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange the previous year. The conviction is under appeal, but Bankman-Fried filed a motion last month without the help of her own legal team, claiming new evidence in the case and asking Kaplan for a new trial.
In her bid for a new trial, Bankman-Fried claims she is the victim of a “weaponized” Biden-era Justice Department; It’s an allegation that prosecutors called “inconsistent.” Bankman-Fried also called for a new judge, saying Kaplan had shown “clear bias” against him. The judge issued a series of orders restricting Bankman-Fried’s defense arguments at trial.
Fried requested an extension until April 1 for Bankman-Fried to respond to the government’s allegations. He said he does not have access to word processing or files in prison and that his communication will be cut off while he is transferred to a different prison in the next few weeks.
In the new filing, the court said Bankman-Fried received a phone call from her mother or someone who identified himself as her. Kaplan said the court “does not accept phone calls from plaintiffs or family members.”
The judge said he would extend the deadline to March 23 on his own initiative so that Bankman-Fried or his lawyers could seek additional time if desired.
The case is United States v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-00673, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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