Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried plans to retain a new legal team representing another former cryptocurrency executive, Alex Mashinsky, according to multiple news reports.
Bankman-Fried, wearing a tan prison shirt and chains around his ankles, acknowledged to the court on Wednesday that his attorney represented Mashinsky “at a high level,” Reuters reported.
Earlier this month, U.S. prosecutors wrote: letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, requesting a hearing on potential conflicts of interest that may arise because Mukasey and Young represent Bankman-Fried and former Celsius CEO Mashinsky. According to court documents, Mukasey and Young hired SBF as their attorney in January.
According to evidence presented at Bankman-Fried’s trial, Chelsea lent money to Alameda Research, a hedge fund linked to FTX, and those loans were repaid to Chelsea by the fund using FTX customer funds. Bankman-Fried could argue that Chelsea were not defrauded and are not entitled to compensation in a future appeal, while Mashinsky could argue the opposite, prosecutors explained. Both FTX and Celsius have since filed for bankruptcy.
“The relationship between Alameda Research and Celsius creates the potential for conflict on several fronts,” U.S. prosecutors said in the letter.
Bankman-Fried said she discussed the potential conflict with appellate attorney Alexandra Shapiro, who will be involved in the final appeal. Reuters.
par of the course
Ira Lee Sorkin, who represented infamous Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff, said: New attorneys with appellate experience are often brought in after trial.
“As much as the court and lawyers want to see all communications Mr. Bankman-Fried had with the Cohen firm, we will waive the attorney-client privilege to allow the Cohen firm to communicate with the Mukasey firm,” Sorkin said in an interview with The Block. “I respect that appeal, that’s all, it’s not unusual at all,” he said.
Bankman-Fried appears to be planning to work with Mukasey and Young on his appeal, Braden Perry, a partner at Kennyhertz Perry and a former federal enforcement attorney, said in an email to The Block.
“Lawyers, especially professional white-collar and appellate lawyers, face many potential conflicts and ethical issues in representing clients within the same industry, which in this case presents a series of facts,” Perry said.
Bankman-Fried has been in jail since he was found. feeling guilty Last year, a New York jury found him guilty of defrauding investors. Mashinsky in the meantime trial Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2025 charged Last year there were incidents of fraud and misleading customers about key aspects of our business.
Mashinsky appeared in court Tuesday and reportedly waived his right to object to the appointment of a lawyer without a conflict of interest. Inner City Press.
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