SBF’s lawyers signal need to push back October criminal trial
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Lawyers representing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have flagged it may be necessary to delay the criminal trial for the former crypto exchange executive — to give him more time to prepare his defense.
In a Mar. 8
The letter also noted the superseded indictment against Bankman-Fried unsealed on Feb. 22 that bumped the number of charges from eight to 12, with new charges relating to conspiracy and fraud.
Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the original eight charges brought against him in December 2022.
One of Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, Christian Everdell, wrote in the letter:
“Depending on the volume of the additional discovery and the timing of the productions, it may be necessary to request an adjournment of the trial, currently scheduled to begin on October 2, 2023.”
“While we are not making such an application at this time, we wanted to note this issue for the Court now,” Everdell added.
Related: Lawyers’ picnic: FTX counsel and advisers rake in $34M in January
Bankman-Fried is currently released on a $250 million bond. He has been under house arrest in Palo Alto, California at his parent’s house and his online activities are restricted.
What is Sam Bankman-Fried doing in this photo? Wrong answers only pic.twitter.com/q7UfaRt8f6
— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) February 24, 2023
The schedule for the trial and bail conditions will be discussed at a hearing on Friday, Mar. 10.
The FTX founder alsfaces separate fraud-related civil lawsuits from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) — both have been delayed until after Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial.
