Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX pleads not guilty to fraud allegations

By: Mark Jessy

Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX pleads not guilty to fraud allegations

August 23, 2023 9:03 AM

During a court hearing on August 22, reports indicated that Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pled not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.


A revised indictment against Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, the ex-CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, includes allegations of fraud and money laundering, to which Bankman-Fried has reportedly pled not guilty. 


Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn heard the most recent court proceedings against SBF. The former CEO of FTX faces seven counts of fraud, money laundering, and one count of campaign finance violations. Bankman-Fried has entered a not-guilty plea to all charges.

 


The fact that SBF has gone 11 days without his Adderall — he also follows a vegan diet — has prompted worries from SBF's counselor. The legal processes also included a request from SBF's attorneys that their client adopt a vegan diet.


In addition to citing Sixth Amendment issues, the attorneys stated that their client has been on remand since August 11 and has had little time to prepare for trial. The legal team added that they had been given "only fiction as solutions."


On August 22, Bankman-Fried appeared in court in the Southern District of New York, where he was charged with embezzling client monies to pay for his own expenses and make political contributions. While the original charges of fraud and money laundering date back to December, other charges related to campaign funding were introduced by prosecutors just this month.


After having his bail revoked, Bankman-Fried's latest court appearance in the FTX lawsuit saw SBF being led out of the New York courtroom in cuffs.


Bankman-Fried asked the judge earlier in the week for permission to spend five weekdays out of custody preparing his defense. A federal court that is handling SBF's criminal case, however, issued an order enabling him to spend almost seven hours outside of jail meeting with his legal team.