Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, returned to court on Wednesday for the first time since his November fraud conviction. Bankman-Fried in January hired defense lawyer Marc Mukasey to help represent him during his sentencing and likely appeal. Mukasey also represents Alex Mashinsky, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Networks, on charges of artificially inflating the value of the company’s in-house crypto token and earning $42m from selling his holdings. Mashinsky has pleaded not guilty. In a court filing earlier this month, prosecutors in Bankman-Fried’s case claimed Mukasey and his partner Torrey Young had potential conflicts of interest because Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research hedge fund used stolen FTX customer funds to repay money it had borrowed from Celsius. “Bankman-Fried may wish to argue at sentencing or in the event of an appeal that Celsius and similar lenders were not defrauded and are not entitled to restitution,” prosecutors wrote, observing “Celsius, and potentially Mashinsky, may take a contrary position.” They say Bankman-Fried should be able to continue with Mukasey as long as he understands the possible conflict.
