Federal prosecutors told a judge that a letter purportedly sent by Sam Bankman-Fried from prison was actually sent via FedEx from a completely different location, suggesting someone on the outside was impersonating him.
The case adds an unusual wrinkle to Bankman-Fried’s post-conviction battle. The FTX founder, who was sentenced to 25 years for fraud and conspiracy, has pursued a new trial from the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in San Pedro, California.
Prosecutors say the suspect letter was documented on March 16, but sent from Palo Alto or Menlo Park, mislabeled the prison as a state facility and carried a typed “/s/” instead of an actual signature.
Bureau of Prisons regulations prevent inmates from sending mail through private carriers like FedEx, prosecutors noted.
Taken together, prosecutors said those discrepancies give “reason to doubt” the letter was sent by Bankman-Fried.
The government did not charge the defendant or his associates with fabricating the document, but the filing signals a willingness to challenge the reliability of materials submitted as part of his efforts to secure a new trial.
Bankman-Fried has repeatedly argued that he did not receive a fair trial and has pointed to what he claims is new evidence, including later recovery of customer funds through the FTX bankruptcy process.
Appellate judges have signaled skepticism about that argument, stressing that the case was about how client funds were used and represented at the time, not whether creditors were later made whole.
