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Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly employs a defense lawyer as US authorities investigate FTX

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, has acquired the services of Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor, to be his lawyer.

Mark Botnick, spokesperson for Bankman-Fried, revealed on Dec. 6 that the ex-FTX CEO has employed Cohen in the midst of multiple civil cases from crypto exchange investors and examinations by legislators and regulators in the U.S.

Daniel Cohen, one of the originators of Cohen & Gresser, used to be an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

He was also a member of the legal team for the well-known case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking and other offenses and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have declared different hearings to look into the downfall of FTX and how it could affect investors and customary markets.

The House Financial Services Committee has requested that Bankman-Fried appear at a hearing on FTX on Dec. 13, but the former CEO has stated that he would only be willing to do so after he has had time to “learn and review what happened.”

It is not known whether he would give his speech in person or if he would do it remotely while in the Bahamas.

On November 11, FTX Group was put into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware after experiencing a “liquidity crunch” in which it had too much leverage and was unable to meet its customers’ withdrawal requests.

Filings in bankruptcy court indicated that FTX may have up to 1 million creditors.

Bankman-Fried has frequently taken part in interviews on various media sources and been the subject of numerous press reports after the failure of FTX, although he has received criticism from many in the crypto industry.

John Ray, the former CEO of FTX, has expressed regret for his part in the debacle of the exchange and stated his aim to compensate the affected members of the staff, yet he did not provide any concrete strategy to restore the investors.

He was appointed chief executive of the exchange in November.

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