Judge Lewis Kaplan has denied former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a four- to six-week adjournment of his sentencing hearing. The request was made on Dec. 20 and would have delayed his presentencing interview scheduled for Dec. 21, as well as the sentencing hearing currently scheduled for March 28, 2024.
The request was made by lawyer Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gresser in a letter to the judge, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s trial in the United States District Court of Southern New York. Cohen said the defense needs more time to prepare for the presentencing interview.
In addition, disclosures for the presentence investigation report are scheduled for Jan. 5, 2024 and Feb. 2, 2024, but the government has not yet announced whether it will proceed with a second trial on the severed charges against Bankman-Fried. Those are the five charges that Bankman-Fried objected to because they were not in the original indictment that resulted in his extradition from the Bahamas.
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If the trial on the severed charges takes place, it will be on March 11, 2024, which could result in a separate presentence investigation report and sentencing hearing, Cohen said, adding:
“For fairness and efficiency, the Court should consider the relevant conduct all at once in a single sentencing hearing.”
“The defense contacted the Government to obtain its consent but has not yet received a response,” Cohen added. He also pointed out that this was Bankman-Fried’s first request for an adjournment of the hearing.
Kaplan did not allow any changes to the schedule. The defense did not object to the sentencing date when it was set, Kaplan pointed out, and Bankman-Fried has already received one extension for filing sentencing submissions.
Bankman-Fried will be able to file a new adjournment request if the government chooses to proceed with a trial on the severed charges, the judge said.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven charges on Nov. 7 — two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence after the jury’s verdict.