- SBF has made an important decision regarding his defense.
- The fallen crypto mogul waived his right to raise objections to his lawyer’s possible conflict of interest.
- SBF said he had discussed the matter with lawyers representing him in the trial.
Crypto’s fallen “golden boy,” Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has decided to retain Marc Mukasey as his defense counsel despite a possible conflict of interest in the feature.
Formerly a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Mukasey, and his associate Torrey Young is representing former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky on charges of allegedly inflating the price of Celsius’s crypto token and earning $42M from selling his tokens.
After Bankman-Fried hired Mukasey in January, prosecutors raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest, given that Alameda Research has past dealings with Celsius. On Wednesday, SBF appeared in court for the first time since he was convicted to confirm whether he wanted to retain his new lawyer.
Bankman-Fried Agrees to Retain Mukasey
According to a Reuters report, while appearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried said he was comfortable retaining Mukasey and Young in his defense team despite a potential conflict arising from the two representing Mashinsky.
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SBF told the court that he had consulted about Mukasey’s potential conflict of interest with attorneys Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, who represented him during his criminal trial. Alexandra Shapiro, another lawyer, was retained to handle his likely appeal.
Cohen and Everdell will seek the court’s permission to drop SBF’s case, after which Mukasey and Young will take over. On his part, Mukasey stated at a Tuesday hearing that his law firm could “fairly represent” both SBF and Mashinsky.
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In the meantime, while Mashinsky is free on bail, SBF is at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been in detention since August last year.
Read why FTX ditched exchange revival plans:
FTX Abandons Crypto Exchange Revival for User Payouts
Stay updated on the FTX lawsuit against SBF’s parents:
SBF’s Parents File Motion to Dismiss FTX Clawback Lawsuit
