Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has retained new legal representation ahead of his sentencing hearing for seven criminal charges. The notice was filed on January 9 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by Torrey Young and Marc Mukasey of Mukasey Young LLP, who now represent Bankman-Fried. A sealed document was also filed by SBF’s legal team, hinting at a possible appeal to his November conviction.
Bankman-Fried stepped down from his position at FTX in November 2022 due to liquidity problems at the company. Following his resignation, FTX filed for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried was then extradited from the Bahamas and charged in the United States for fraud related to the transfer of funds between FTX and Alameda Research.
After a month-long trial in October 2023, a jury convicted Bankman-Fried on seven criminal counts, including wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, commodities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing by Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28.
The reasons for SBF’s decision to retain new counsel before his sentencing hearing are unclear. However, reports following the trial suggest that his legal team was unhappy with his performance on the stand. Stanford Law School professor David Mills reportedly described SBF as “the worst person [he had] ever seen do a cross-examination.”
Bankman-Fried was initially expected to face a second criminal trial in March, where he would face five additional charges. However, prosecutors have reportedly decided not to proceed with the trial, citing public interest. Following his conviction, the former FTX CEO could potentially spend years in prison.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 🇧🇸 |
| Sentiment | very negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Marc Mukasey, David Mills, Torrey Young, Sam Bankman-Fried, Lewis Kaplan |
| Companies | FTX, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Alameda Research, Stanford Law School, Mukasey Young LLP |
| Currencies | None |
| Securities | None |
