The former CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has hired defense attorney Mark Cohen to represent him, as per Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson Mark Botnick.
Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison have retained Mark S. Cohen of Cohen & Gresser. Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research embroiled in the meltdown of Bankman-Frien’s FTX, has also hired attorneys to represent her.
According to the sources familiar with the matter, Ellison has tapped Washington-based law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr as regulators are proceeding with stringent investigations.
Regulators are investigating the role of FTX’s top executives including Sam Bankman-Fried in the firm’s abrupt collapse. The crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy after a massive liquidity crisis that saw at least $1 billion of customer funds vanish.
Prosecutors and regulatory authorities have not charged Bankman-Fried or Ellison with a crime. However, they face civil lawsuits from FTX customers.
Botnick has confirmed that David Mills, a professor at Stanford Law School, is consulting on the matter for Bankman-Fried. Mills has not commented on his involvement yet.
Bankman-Fried had previously hired Martin Flumenbaum of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. However, the lawyer dropped the case due to conflicts. The alleged shifting of $300 million in personal stakes has also put SBF in legal trouble.
Well, the FTX collapse has been the most dramatic scandal in the crypto space, and it is continuing to trouble the whole system. The ongoing investigations can only reveal what lies ahead!
