No Vegan Diet for SBF as Attorneys Lament He Is ‘Surviving on Bread and Water’

Attorneys representing the infamous FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) have raised concerns over their client’s living conditions during his ongoing detention in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. The lawyers laid emphasis on SBF’s feeding and medication administration. SBF also pled not guilty to the latest indictments against him.

SBF’s Poor Living Condition in Jail

In a Tuesday court hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in New York, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers commented on SBF’s feeding, stating that SBF was “subsisting on bread and water” and “sometimes peanut butter” since the jail can’t accommodate his vegan diet.

Mark Cohen, one of the attorneys for SBF, stated that the troubled FTX founder lacked adequate medical attention. Cohen added that Bankman-Fried had not received his Adderall dosage, a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). SBF’s supply of Emsam, a depression disorder treatment, was also reported to be depreciating.

Christian Everdell, another member of SBF’s legal team, told the presiding judge about their client’s Sixth Amendment rights violation, claiming that SBF had no access to discovery documents. It is believed this may hinder his preparation process for trial in October. However, the Magistrate Judge stated that such requests were to be tabled to U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Notably, this will be SBF’s first court appearance since Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his request for bail earlier this month, citing issues of witness tampering. The decision meant that the disgraced FTX founder would spend his days in the Brooklyn jail until his trial scheduled for October. SBF dressed in a beige, jail-issued uniform in his latest court hearing.

SBF Pleads Not Guilty Again

The embattled FTX founder once again pled not guilty to seven charges against him during a court hearing headed by Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. These charges included his role in fraud, money laundering, and the use of customers’ funds to buy personal real estate. Also included in the charges was SBF’s recently identified $100 million political donations. 

All these criminal offenses are tied to the collapse of his once-giant crypto empire FTX and research firm Alameda Research.