Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, hope to negotiate a postponement of the sentence.
But their request was rejected by the courts. The fate of the famous American fraudster will be determined on March 28.
Sam Bankman Fried’s lawyers are asking for the hearing to be postponed
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers ask for the hearing to be postponed to May 2024, and the judge shocks them with a refusal.
It looks like Sam Bankman-Fried won’t benefit from any reprieve. It also appears that Judge Lewis Kaplan does not take kindly to the former president and co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Despite the urgent request from lawyers, Kaplan refused to postpone the hearings and insisted that the sentence be issued on March 28, 2024.
In an application submitted to the courts, SBF’s lawyers called for the hearing to be postponed between early and mid-May 2024.
A delay that, according to them, would allow their client to prepare for this crucial meeting.
The defense justified its request as “collecting the necessary documents to present the ruling and prepare for the preliminary interview.”
To support this request, they said that government documents required for the ruling would not be submitted before February 2.
But Judge Kaplan’s request from Sam Bankman Fried’s lawyers comes too late.
No objections have been made to the date of sentencing so far. For the judge, the rights of the defense were respected.
The judge also explained in his order that the defendant had already been granted an extension to file sentencing briefs.
The judge thus indicates that Sam Bankman-Fried and his judicial team had six months to prepare for the interview before issuing the ruling.
The trial of the FTX fraudster will not end easily!
It is worth noting that the former CEO of the FTX exchange is scheduled to be heard on December 21 by the US Supervision and Preventive Services System as he has not yet finished achieving justice and its procedures.
This meeting should result in a sentencing recommendation. At the same time, Bankman-Fried is also awaiting another trial next year.
On March 11, 2024, the former leader will be tried on other charges, including alleged bank fraud and supporting corruption of Chinese officials.
For the record, Sam Bankman Freed was convicted by a jury on November 2, and he is already facing a heavy sentence of up to 115 years in prison.
While the accused pleaded not guilty during his trial, unlike his former companions and friends.
Since the bankruptcy, FTX’s new administrators have uncovered numerous violations and poor practices in managing client and corporate funds.
The company’s future remains pending the vote on the restructuring plan by creditors.
