- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has replaced his previous attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdale, as he approaches sentencing.
- The newly recruited attorney, Marc Mukasey, will now represent Bankman-Fried.
- Mukasey also defends Alex Mashinsky, the creator of the cryptocurrency lender Celsius, who faces charges including conspiracy to manipulate the price of the company’s token and securities and commodities fraud.
As Bankman-Fried, FTX founder, prepared to enter sentence discussions, he replaced his previous attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdale.
Sam Bankman-Fried appoints new legal counsel
Upon being found guilty of cheating FTX clients of billions of dollars, Sam Bankman-Fried made his first court appearance and said that his trial lawyers would no longer be representing him as he approaches sentence.
Marc Mukasey, the newly recruited attorney, will instead be his representative for the next month. Bankman-Fried, who was convicted guilty of fraud and conspiracy on seven distinct counts in November of last year, will get his sentence in late March.
Mukasey also defends Alex Mashinsky, the creator of the insolvent cryptocurrency lender Celsius, who is charged by the Department of Justice with a number of offenses, including conspiracy to manipulate the price of the company’s token, CEL, and securities and commodities fraud.
Mashinsky is scheduled to go on trial this fall.
Also read: Independent bankruptcy examiner ordered to investigate FTX collapse
Judge questions Bankman-Fried on legal representation on Wednesday
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over the Bankman-trial Fried’s in October, questioned the former cryptocurrency billionaire on Wednesday during a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding possible conflicts and other matters resulting from sharing lawyers with Mashinsky.
Bankman-Fried, who was already being represented by his new attorney, notified the judge that he was no longer employing their services.
In addition, at a Tuesday hearing, Mashinsky stated he had no issues with his lawyers representing Bankman-Fried.
