Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the collapsed FTX, seems to be concerned about the criminal consequences of his actions. To protect itself, Bankman-Fried now hired Mark Cohen, the same attorney who used Ghislaine Maxwell for her defense. Ghislaine Maxwell was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison for human trafficking, including underage girls.
Bankman-Fried, Ellison tap attorneys as FTX probes ramp up https://t.co/INwwoR44k5 pic.twitter.com/VSE2DsEeIO
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 6, 2022
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Cohen’s law firm, Cohen and Gresser, has not responded to the news that they are defending Bankman-Fried. Also the fallen CEO of FTX himself did not really respond to this fact in the Twitter Spaces in which he participated. “I rely on the advice and counsel of people who understand the situation and the context. At the moment I cannot say anything more about it,” said Bankman-Fried.
It appears that Bankman-Fried is currently preparing for serious proceedings. That is probably also waiting for him, unless he still flees to a country without an extradition treaty to the United States. If he does not, there is a good chance that he will receive a hefty punishment.
Ultimately, it’s about millions of people who lost billions of dollars because of the decisions Sam Bankman-Fried was responsible for in his role as CEO. Even if he didn’t know exactly what was going on on the trading platform, he was the one who had to supervise it.
FTX under scrutiny
The fallen trading platform is currently under the strict scrutiny of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is a chance that they will file a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried on the basis of that investigation. However, as a lawyer, Cohen has experience in legal battles against the SEC.
In 2014 won he filed a case against the powerful oversight body involving insider trading. In this case it is a slightly different case, but it will give Bankman-Fried hope that he is not completely out of luck.
Figures like Cohen are known for getting the most out of it and coming up with things that surprise parties like the SEC. So it is far from certain that Bankman-Fried will go to prison for a long period.
