After Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted anew on Tuesday, his attorneys raised worries about the conditions he is living in at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. Bankman-Fried has denied all seven counts of fraud and connivance, maintaining his plea of not guilty previously entered in existing indictments in the case. While he awaits his trial in October, Bankman-Fried's detention is attributed to possible witness tampering.
At a court hearing in New York on Tuesday, lawyers for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried aired worries over their client's living situation at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is detained due to an accusation of witness tampering. Bankman-Fried's legal team informed a federal judge that the ex-crypto billionaire had to "subsist on bread and water" and on "occasions peanut butter", as jail officials could not comply with his vegan diet. They highlighted that he had only been offered the standard "flesh meals." Attorney Mark Cohen further revealed that since his client's imprisonment 11 days ago, Bankman-Fried had received no doses of his prescribed Adderall, a treatment for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Additionally, Cohen claimed Bankman-Fried's supply of Emsam, a transdermal patch for depression, was "limited" and "diminishing." U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who will be presiding at the forthcoming criminal trial, had previously requested the jail to provide prescribed medications for Bankman-Fried.
As Tuesday's arraignment was Bankman-Fried's first court appearance since he was sent to MDC earlier this month, he was seen in a beige, jail-issued uniform and ankle shackles. He entered a plea of not guilty to seven charges, which included fraud and conspiracy. He had previously pleaded not guilty to other indictments tied to the collapse of his crypto empire. Additionally, Bankman-Fried's lawyers sent in a letter from his psychiatrist, George Lerner, who started treating the former FTX CEO in February 2019. The letter noted that Bankman-Fried suffers from Major Depressive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and that if deprived of his medication he would suffer a return of symptoms and be unable to help in his defense.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn stated she would look into the issues as soon as possible and try to have a solution in place by the end of the day. Defense attorney Christian Everdell stated that Bankman-Fried was facing "serious Sixth Amendment issues" as he had only six weeks to prepare for his trial, without access to the internet and a laptop. Judge Netburn remarked that defense had to make trial preparation requests via Judge Kaplan. The prior day, Judge Kaplan had given Bankman-Fried and his lawyers permission to use the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan following the arraignment. Judge Netburn said she would address the concerns about Bankman-Fried's living conditions in communication with the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Prisons, which runs the jail.
Bankman-Fried lost his bail rights due to his decision to leak private diary entries from his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to The New York Times. In these writings, Ellison had given an account of her self-doubt and the stress of her position as head of Bankman-Fried's non-functioning crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.
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