- SBF’s case on the fall of his FTX empire was reassigned to the U.S. District judge, Lewis Kaplan.
- Kaplan has been a long-serving judge since 1994 and is well known for handling defamation suits, including the former U.S. President Trump’s and his recent sexual case by Britain’s Prince Andrew.
- SBF is expected to enter a plea next week with the new judge presiding over the case.
The Former FTX chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), was arrested on December 13 in the Bahamas, where his company is headquartered. Eight criminal charges were brought against him, as revealed by Federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
According to a Reuters report, SBF’s criminal case on the collapse of his crypto empire has been reassigned to the U.S. District Judge, Lewis Kaplan, recently known for his no-nonsense demeanor. Kaplan is well known for handling defamation suits, including that of the former U.S. president, Donald Trump, and a sexual claim against Britain’s Prince Andrew.
The new judge has taken over from the former colleague Ronnie Abrams, who withdrew herself on December 23 after realizing that the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where her husband is a partner, was involved in advising the now-bankrupt exchange in 2021.
Kaplan has been a long-serving judge since 1994. He became well known for his no-nonsense character when he oversaw two civil lawsuits by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. Carroll accused the former U.S. President Donald Trump of defaming her twenty-seven years ago, who denied raping her in a Manhattan department store dressing room.
In his recent case, Kaplan oversaw Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17, the now-convicted former associate of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, Prince Andrew sought out the case in February this year.
SBF was arrested a few days ago in the Bahamas at the request of American officials. During the arrest, he was accorded no bail, which the judge stipulated that he might flee once granted. Before SBF’s arrest, he acknowledged risk-management failures in FTX but did not believe he was criminally liable.
SBF’s Bail Agreement
On December 22, a Twitter fan referred to as Unusual Whales said SBF’s wish was granted as Judge Gorenstein approved the bail arrangements because he wouldn’t flee or threaten the public. Additionally, the judge noted that it would be next to impossible for the former FTX chief executive to hide or engage in any financial activities due to his reputation.
SBF is likely to be freed after paying a $250 million bond, which is most likely to be the highest bond presented to the court even before the court hearing, surpassing that of the financial scammer Bernie Madoff, who was given a bail agreement of $10 million in 2008.
However, Judge Gorenstein set some conditions for SBF, including home confinement, location monitoring, and surrendering his passport.
Additionally, the bail was granted on the state of SBF’s “strict pretrial supervision.” The supervision would include mental health therapy and assessment because he is battling depression and taking prescription drugs.
SBF’s associates Gary Wang, the FTX co-founder, and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to the charges relating to securities violations according to statements from U.S. prosecutors. Gary Gensler, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission chair, stipulated that both Wang and Ellison manipulated the price of FTT.
Noteworthy, Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea next week to criminal charges that he defrauded investors and looted billions of dollars in customer funds in his collapsed FTX exchange. The new executive, John Ray III, told Congress on December 13 that the crypto exchange lost $8 billion of user’s money while being run by inexperienced, non-sophisticated individuals.
