FTX cryptocurrency change founder Sam Bankman-Fried, carrying jail clothes, stands between his attorneys Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell in Manhattan federal courtroom the place he plead responsible to seven felony prices contained in a brand new indictment throughout a listening to earlier than U.S. Justice of the Peace Decide Sarah Netburn in New York Metropolis, August 22, 2023 in a courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
In a listening to in New York on Tuesday, legal professionals for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried expressed issues over their shopper’s dwelling circumstances at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Middle, the place he is being housed for alleged witness tampering.
Bankman-Fried’s authorized group instructed a federal decide that the previous crypto billionaire was “subsisting on bread and water” and “generally peanut butter,” as a result of the jail cannot accommodate his vegan eating regimen. They mentioned he had solely been provided the usual “flesh meals.”
Mark Cohen, an legal professional on the case, added that Bankman-Fried had not acquired any doses of his prescribed treatment Adderall, a therapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD), since being remanded to custody 11 days in the past. Cohen mentioned his shopper solely had a “restricted” and “dwindling” provide of Emsam, a transdermal patch for treating melancholy. U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan, who’s presiding over the felony trial, had instructed a jail to offer these prescribed drugs to Bankman-Fried.
The listening to on Tuesday marked Bankman-Fried’s first time in courtroom since he was despatched to MDC earlier this month. He is because of be held there till his felony trial begins in October. Bankman-Fried, donning a beige, jail-issued uniform and ankle shackles, pleaded not responsible to seven prices, together with fraud and conspiracy, in a brand new superseding indictment. He beforehand pleaded not responsible to extra indictments associated to the collapse of his crypto empire.
An earlier request from Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals included a letter from his psychiatrist, George Lerner, who has been treating the previous FTX CEO since February 2019.
“Mr. Bankman-Fried has a historical past of Main Depressive Dysfunction and Consideration Deficit Hyperactivity Dysfunction,” Lerner wrote.
With out his treatment, Lerner warned, “Bankman-Fried will expertise a return of his melancholy and ADHD signs and shall be severely negatively impacted in his capacity to help in his personal protection.”
Justice of the Peace Decide Sarah Netburn mentioned she would look into these points instantly and purpose to have an answer by the top of the day.
Christian Everdell, one other legal professional on Bankman-Fried’s authorized group, instructed Netburn that there are “critical Sixth Modification points” involving Bankman-Fried not having the ability to put together and take part in his protection with solely six weeks till trial.
Bankman-Fried has so far been unable to achieve entry to the web and a laptop computer. His legal professionals have argued that with their shopper in jail, he won’t be able to correctly put together for his trial because of the mountainous quantities of discovery paperwork solely accessible through a pc related to the web.
Decide Netburn mentioned the protection must make trial prep requests by Decide Kaplan.
On Monday, Decide Kaplan granted Bankman-Fried and his attorneys permission to work out of the courthouse at 500 Pearl Road in Manhattan instantly following Tuesday’s arraignment. Decide Netburn mentioned she would tackle issues over Bankman-Fried’s dwelling circumstances instantly with the U.S. Justice Division’s Bureau of Prisons, which runs the jail.
Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked over his resolution to leak non-public diary entries by his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to The New York Instances. In a lot of her private writings, Ellison expressed self-doubt and emotions of stress in her position as the previous head of Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Analysis.
WATCH: Sam Bankman-Fried despatched to jail over witness tampering
