Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried said on Wednesday that it may be necessary to postpone the Oct. 2 criminal trial against the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, arguing that it could take longer than expected to get the evidence examine and prepare a defense.
In a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the 31-year-old former billionaire’s lawyers said Manhattan federal prosecutors have yet to release evidence collected from electronic devices owned by Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, who were previously two of their closest associates clients were.
Both have since pleaded guilty and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Lawyers also noted that prosecutors added new fraud and conspiracy charges late last month, bringing the count to 12, after Bankman-Fried’s now-bankrupt stock market collapsed in November and he was arrested the next month.
In January, Bankmann-Fried pleaded not guilty to the original eight counts in which he defrauded investors and caused billions of dollars in losses in what prosecutors called an “epic” fraud.
“Although we are not making such a motion at this time, we wish to bring this matter to the attention of the court now,” Christian Everdell, one of Bankman-Fried’s attorneys, wrote in the letter. A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Bankman-Fried boomed in the values of bitcoin and other digital assets to an estimated net worth of US$26 billion (around Rs.213,000) and became an influential donor to US political campaigns.
But his fortune vanished after concerns about a mix-up of funds between FTX and Alameda Research, a hedge fund he also owned, spurred the cryptocurrency equivalent of a run on the bank FTX.
Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million (about Rs.2,000) bail and is under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
Kaplan has suggested his bail could be revoked after prosecutors said he may have attempted to tamper with witnesses. Prosecutors suggested over the weekend that Bankman-Fried remains at large with severe restrictions on his use of technology.
Bankman-Fried’s trial plan and bail terms are expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Friday.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
