Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has informed the federal court that he has retained new counsel ahead of his sentencing hearing for seven criminal charges. Additionally, SBF’s legal team submitted a sealed document indicating the possibility of considering an appeal to his November conviction.
The filing, made on January 9 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, revealed that Torrey Young and Marc Mukasey from Mukasey Young LLP are now representing Bankman-Fried.
Sam Bankman-Fried, who is facing potential decades in prison after being convicted of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud, has brought in Marc Mukaseyy, a former federal prosecutor.
Defendants often bring in new lawyers ahead of sentencing to provide fresh perspectives on the case. Marc Mukasey, who has not commented, has a track record of defending white-collar cases, including representing individuals involved in financial market manipulation cases and high-profile corporate figures.
Mukasey previously represented Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who received a four-year prison sentence, considerably less than the 11 years sought by prosecutors. While Bankman-Fried may find hope in Milton’s more lenient sentence, the nature and scale of his fraud are more extensive, making his case more complex and potentially carrying more severe consequences.
Mukasey’s father, Michael Mukasey, is a former judge in the Southern District of New York, where Judge Kaplan presides. Marc Mukasey has also been involved in representing former President Donald Trump’s company in a criminal case brought against it by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Bankman-Fried, aged 31, was convicted late last year for stealing billions of