U.S. prosecutors challenged a letter submitted to Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 19 that claimed to come from convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terminal Island, San Pedro.
FedEx tracking data showed the package originated in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, California, not from the federal detention facility where SBF is held.
Tracking Data Contradicts SBF Letter’s Claimed Origin
The letter was intended to support SBF’s Rule 33 motion for a new trial, filed pro se in February 2026. SBF is serving a 25-year sentence after a November 2023 jury conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of FTX.
The envelope displayed “S. Bankman-Fried” at Terminal Island as its return address. However, instead of a handwritten signature, it carried a typed “/s/” mark, a format typically used in electronic legal filings rather than physical prison correspondence.
Palo Alto and Menlo Park sit near Stanford University, where SBF’s parents hold academic ties. The geographic link raised immediate questions about who actually sent the document.
A Pattern of Improper Filings
The suspicious letter surfaced days after Judge Kaplan rebuked SBF’s mother, Barbara Fried, for submitting unsolicited letters to the court on her son’s behalf.
Kaplan stated that Fried is not a member of the court’s bar, has not appeared in the case, and cannot use a power of attorney to seek relief.
The judge also noted that his chambers received a voicemail from Fried, adding that the court does not accept phone calls from litigants or their families.
Prosecutors have already urged Kaplan to deny SBF’s retrial bid entirely. In a March 11 opposition filing, the government called his claims recycled and legally insufficient, arguing that proposed witness testimony from former FTX executives Daniel Chapsky and Ryan Salame does not qualify as newly discovered evidence.
A letter traced to Silicon Valley rather than a prison cell adds another credibility problem to an already embattled legal effort. Judge Kaplan has not yet ruled on the Rule 33 motion.