Prosecutors say there's no need for a second trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

NEW YORK — A second trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on charges not presented in the cryptocurrency fraud case to a jury that convicted him in November is unnecessary, prosecutors told a judge Friday.

Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in a letter that evidence at a second trial would duplicate evidence already shown to a jury. They also said it would ignore the “strong public interest in a speedy resolution” of the case, especially because victims would not benefit from forfeiture or restitution if sentencing is delayed.

They said the judge could consider evidence that would be used in a second trial when he convicts Bankman-Fried on March 28 of defrauding customers and investors of at least $10 billion.

Bankman-Fried, 31, who has been in jail for several weeks ahead of his trial, was convicted in early November of seven charges, including wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and three counts of conspiracy. He faces decades in prison.

Last spring, prosecutors dropped some charges against Bankman-Fried because the charges had not been approved as part of his extradition from the Bahamas in December 2022. They said the charges could be filed at a second trial sometime in 2024.

However, prosecutors said at the time that they would still present evidence to the jury about the substance of the charges at the 2023 trial.

The charges that were temporarily dropped included conspiracy to make unlawful campaign contributions, conspiracy to bribe foreign officials and two other conspiracy charges. He was also charged with securities fraud and commodities fraud.

In their letter to Kaplan, prosecutors noted that they had submitted evidence on all dropped charges during Bankman-Fried's months-long trial.

They said authorities in the Bahamas have still not responded to their request to file the additional charges at a second trial.

An attorney for Bankman-Fried declined comment.

A conviction on the additional charges would not result in the possibility of a longer prison sentence for Bankman-Fried, prosecutors said.

“Continuing with sentencing in March 2024 without the delay that would be caused by a second trial would increase public interest in a timely and just resolution of the case,” prosecutors wrote. “The interest in avoiding delay carries particular weight here, where the sentence is likely to include orders for forfeiture and restitution for the victims of the defendant's crimes.”