FTX ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal case assigned to Bill Clinton-appointed judge, Lewis Kaplan
U.S. District Judge Louis Kaplan of Manhattan said: Assigned Following the dismissal of previous judge Ronnie Abrams, a criminal case against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman Freed (SBF) will be heard.
🚨 The Sam Bankman-Freed case has been reassigned to Bill Clinton-appointed Judge Louis Kaplan.
(Photo credit: Danny Nelson, April 2022) pic.twitter.com/rUcIhlTwRw
— Jane Adams (@iLoveJaneAdams) December 27, 2022
On December 24, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed SBF’s case, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Abrams said her husband, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, provided legal advice to the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2021. She also revealed that her husband is representing parties that may be opposing the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy proceedings.
U.S. Department of Justice defendant Bankman-Fried says he used client funds to support Alameda Research’s cryptocurrency trading operations, causing billions of dollars in losses.
Bankman-Fried admitted to failing to manage risk at FTX, but said he was not criminally responsible for fraud charges.
SBF was released on December 22 on $250 million bail and was ordered to remain in custody at his parents’ home in California after being extradited from the Bahamas to New York.
Lewis Kaplan known for his no-nonsense approach in court
Kaplan was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994 by President Bill Clinton.
Over the years, Kaplan was known to be irritating to lawyers on both sides. and presided over notable financial affairs. Kaplan sentenced the company owner, his Trendon Shavers, to his 18 months in prison.
He also oversees two civil lawsuits filed against former President Trump by former Elle columnist E. Gene Carroll.
