Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has filed notice in federal court that he retained new counsel before his sentencing hearing for seven criminal charges.
In a Jan. 9 filing in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Torrey Young and Marc Mukasey of Mukasey Young LLP said they represented Bankman-Fried. SBF’s legal team also filed a sealed document, which could suggest a possible appeal to his November conviction.
Bankman-Fried, former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, stepped down in November 2022 amid liquidity issues at the firm. FTX subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and SBF was extradited from the Bahamas and charged in the United States for fraud related to the handling of funds between FTX and Alameda Research.
Following a roughly 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 expected to return to court on March 28 for sentencing by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
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It’s unclear why SBF retained new counsel before his sentencing hearing, but according to reports following the trial, members of his legal team were displeased with his performance on the stand. Stanford Law School professor David Mills reportedly said SBF was “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 reportedly planned not to move forward with the proceeding, citing public interest. The former FTX CEO could be looking at years in prison following his conviction.
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