Lawyer: SBF Is Living on Bread, Water, PB

Vegan is having a hard time behind bars, lawyer says
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2023 1:50 AM CDT
Lawyer: SBF Is Living on Bread, Water, PB
FILE — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Feb. 16, 2023. Prosecutors said Monday, Aug. 14, they'll use testimony from Bankman-Fried's “trusted inner circle” of former executives at his collapsed cryptocurrency empire against him at an October trial.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Sam Bankman-Fried is living entirely on bread, water, and occasionally peanut butter, according to a lawyer for the FTX founder. Bankman-Fried was earlier this month ordered to spend the time leading up to his October fraud trial in a Brooklyn jail rather than at his parents' house in Palo Alto, and it's been a struggle, according to his attorney. SBF appeared in court Tuesday to plead not guilty to the seven charges he faces, which also include conspiracy charges, and his lawyer said at that hearing that the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange is a vegan, but continues to be served "flesh meals," hence the reason he's been eating so little.

"Your Honor, that's outrageous and needs to be remedied," the attorney said, adding that SBF also needs medication to focus—NBC News says it's Adderall, typically used for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder—and he has not been given it since he arrived at the detention center Aug. 12. Bankman-Fried also uses Emsam, a transdermal patch for treating depression, and the lawyer said his client's supply of that is "limited" and "dwindling." The judge said she would look into getting Bankman-Fried his medications as well as food more appropriate to his diet, the Hill reports. SBF's defense team also argued he is struggling to prepare for trial because he hasn't been able to get access to the internet or a computer. (More Sam Bankman-Fried stories.)

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