Judge Tells Ex-FTX Chief Sam Bankman-Fried’s Mom She Can’t Contact Court or Seek More Time in His Bid for a New Trial

A federal judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal case has formally instructed his mother, retired Stanford Law professor Barbara Fried, not to contact the court or make filings on her son’s behalf in connection with his bid for a new trial. According to a memo endorsement issued on March 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said he would not consider a voicemail to chambers and letters from Fried requesting more time for Bankman-Fried to submit his post-trial papers, emphasizing that she is not counsel of record in the case. The judge nonetheless granted an extension of Bankman-Fried’s deadline to file, but clarified that any further communications must come through his attorneys, not his family. This development comes after Bankman-Fried, the former FTX chief executive convicted on multiple fraud and conspiracy counts and sentenced to 25 years in prison, began efforts to seek a new trial and pursue appeals over his conviction related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Judge Kaplan’s directive underscores the strict procedural rules governing federal criminal litigation, where only licensed attorneys who have entered an appearance—or the defendant personally—may file motions or communicate with the court about case deadlines. The order highlights ongoing tensions around Bankman-Fried’s post-conviction strategy, the close involvement of his parents in his defense, and the court’s insistence on maintaining formal channels in a high-profile case that has drawn intense public and regulatory scrutiny of crypto industry practices.

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