The criminal case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was reassigned to U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan after U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself on Friday, Reuters reported, citing a court filing.
Kaplan is also overseeing high-profile defamation lawsuits against former President Donald Trump, Reuters said. Abrams withdrew from the case because her husband is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021.
“My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations,” Abrams said in a Friday filing. “Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action.”
Bankman-Fried was arrested on Dec. 12 in the Bahamas and is accused by U.S. authorities of committing or conspiring to commit fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violate campaign finance disclosure laws. He was extradited to the U.S. last week and released on bail while he awaits trial.
Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.
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Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/198066/sam-bankman-fried-criminal-case-assigned-to-new-judge-reuters?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss