Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has decided to move forward with Marc Mukasey as his defense counsel in his criminal case related to the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX. This is despite prosecutors raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest given Mukasey's previous representation of Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.
Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is currently representing Mashinsky on charges that he allegedly inflated the price of Celsius' crypto token and earned $42 million selling his personal tokens. Given that SBF's trading firm Alameda Research has past dealings with Celsius, prosecutors questioned whether Mukasey could fairly represent both men.
However, when appearing in court on Wednesday for the first time since being indicted, SBF told Judge Lewis Kaplan he was comfortable retaining Mukasey and his associate Torrey Young for his defense team. SBF stated he had consulted with his previous lawyers, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, about the possible conflict. Cohen and Everdell will now seek to withdraw from SBF’s case, clearing the way for Mukasey and Young to take over.
For his part, Mukasey argued to the court on Tuesday that his firm believes they can "fairly represent" both Bankman-Fried and Mashinsky in their respective cases. SBF remains detained at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in December 2022.
The high-profile case against SBF continues to develop. The 30-year old founder of the now-bankrupt FTX faces charges of fraud and money laundering that could see him imprisoned for the rest of his life. His willingness to overlook Mukasey's potential conflict of interest signals SBF's desperation to begin crafting a defense strategy alongside the experienced trial lawyer.