Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried complains in court that the vegan prison diet of “bread, water and peanut butter” is “outrageous” – and says without access to computers and medication he “can’t commit to the… prepare process”.
Attorneys for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried claim that without access to computers, medication and a “better diet,” the disgraced crypto founder would be unable to prepare for his prison trial.
The disgraced vegan billionaire, 31, is being fed a “meat diet” of bread, water and peanut butter – which his lawyers called “outrageous”.
His legal team also complained that the crypto expert, who appeared with his legs tied in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, was unable to prepare without the proper medication.
Bankman-Fried is being held at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center after Judge Lewis Kaplan vacated his $250 million bail on Aug. 11.
The judge had granted a prosecution request to have Bankman-Fried jail after agreeing that the fallen cryptocurrency expert had repeatedly attempted to influence witnesses against him.
Incarcerated Sam Bankman-Fried argues that the conditions imposed on him at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center did not allow him to adequately prepare
The disgraced vegan billionaire, 31, is being fed a “meat diet” of bread, water and peanut butter – which his lawyers called “outrageous”.
His attorneys argued to Judge Sarah Netburn, who presided over Tuesday’s hearing, that he needed access to computers and medication to properly prepare.
He was previously granted access to Adderall after his lawyers told the court he was taking 10mg pills three to four times a day for his ADHD.
Bankham-Fried was also granted “uninterrupted access” to his Emsam prescription for depression by Kaplan on August 14.
But just eight days later, his lawyers complained that he had not been granted access to the drugs.
Defense attorney Christian Everdell added that he was being denied the right to properly prepare for his trial because he could only review the millions of pages of evidence two days a week.
Another member of the team called his diet “outrageous” and called for a “remedy,” adding that he has not been on the correct medication since his August 11 incarceration.
Judge Netburn declined to overturn Kaplan’s decision to ban Bankman-Fried from having access to computers.
However, she said the court will seek to persuade the MDC to provide medication and a diet better suited to the defendant’s vegan preferences.
Bankham-Fried was also granted “uninterrupted access” to his Emsam prescription for depression by Kaplan on August 14
Another member of the team called his diet “outrageous” and called for a “remedy,” adding that he has not been on the correct medication since his August 11 incarceration
Bankman-Fried was pictured in a court sketch of the federal hearing looking dejected as he was being returned to one of America’s most notorious prisons.
Judge Kaplan told the court there was “probably reason to believe that the defendant attempted to tamper with witnesses on at least two occasions.”
He jailed Bankman-Fried after allegedly leaking a memo from Caroline Ellison, his former girlfriend, to the New York Times.
Ellison, who ran Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading hedge fund that was one of his businesses, is expected to testify in court against her former lover.
The judge said the writings were about things that a former romantic partner was unlikely to share with anyone “other than to offend, discredit and appall the subject of the material.”
Prosecutors say the memo Ellison authored will be used in Bankman-Fried’s trial, as will testimony from members of his close circle.
The state said it planned to use a memo she wrote after speaking to him, titled “Things Sam freaks out about.”
A 70-page court document contained a wealth of financial records, political donations and private Slack messages.