Vegan Dem Megadonor Bankman-Fried’s Lawyer Claims He’s Eating Only Bread and Water in Jail.

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s Struggle in Jail

FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried is “subsisting on bread and water” because the federal jail ​where he is being held ahead of ⁢his fraud trial has‌ not provided him ⁢with a vegan diet ⁢as⁤ he ⁣requested, his lawyer ⁤said on Tuesday.

Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old former megadonor to the Democratic Party, pleaded‌ not guilty in Manhattan federal court to seven criminal charges contained in a new indictment during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.

His lawyer, Mark​ Cohen, told Netburn during​ the hearing that a lack of adequate food and medication provided at Brooklyn’s‍ Metropolitan Detention Center was hampering ⁤Bankman-Fried’s ability to prepare for‌ his scheduled October trial.

The former billionaire was led into court wearing leg restraints and a beige-colored uniform for his first appearance since his bail was revoked on Aug. ‌11 by U.S. ⁣District Judge⁢ Lewis Kaplan, ⁢who found⁤ that Bankman-Fried had tampered ⁣with witnesses at least twice.

“Not guilty,” Bankman-Fried told Netburn in entering his ⁤plea.

After the‌ hearing, Bankman-Fried spoke to ‌his mother, Stanford Law School Professor Barbara Fried, across the low partition between the courtroom well and the galley.

The⁤ new ‍indictment, returned on‌ Aug. 14, charged Bankman-Fried with seven counts of fraud and conspiracy over the November 2022 collapse of FTX,​ which is now in bankruptcy.

Prosecutors accused him‍ of stealing billions‌ of dollars⁣ in FTX ⁢customer funds to plug losses at his ​hedge fund, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged inadequate risk management at FTX, but has denied stealing ⁣customer funds.

The indictment no longer charges Bankman-Fried with conspiring to violate U.S.‍ campaign finance laws.⁢ Prosecutors said the Bahamas, which extradited Bankman-Fried to⁤ the United States in December 2022, ⁣objected to him being tried on that count.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan said they⁤ would nevertheless seek to show that the $100⁣ million Bankman-Fried allegedly donated to U.S. political campaigns‍ and‌ causes was part of ⁢his ⁣wider-ranging fraud scheme.

More than⁣ 95 percent​ of Bankman-Fried’s contributions went to Democrats and Democratic committees, ​the Washington Free Beacon reported. The crypto CEO‍ and his cofounders at FTX ‍gave more⁤ than $300,000 to members of the House committee that investigated the company’s collapse.

At Tuesday’s hearing, his lawyers said⁢ the jail’s failure to provide him with the medication Adderall to treat attention deficit ⁣hyperactive disorder—despite ‌a court order for the facility to do so—and serve him vegan food ⁣would hinder his ability to ⁣participate in preparing his defense case.

“Because ⁢he’s following his principles, he is literally now ‌subsisting on bread and water,”⁤ Cohen said, adding that⁤ his client’s supply ⁣of the medication Emsam to treat⁤ depression was running low.

Kaplan, who will oversee Bankman-Fried’s⁤ trial, on‌ Aug. 14 ordered the jail ⁤to provide the defendant with the two drugs.

Netburn said during the hearing ⁢she would ask the U.S.⁤ Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons, which runs the jail, to address the issues with Bankman-Fried’s medication. Netburn said she was “reasonably confident”‍ the facility—long plagued by conditions public defenders have called ​”inhumane”—offered ⁢vegetarian food, but was not sure vegan food was available.

In a⁤ statement, the Bureau of Prisons said MDC inmates had access to “appropriate” healthcare, medicine and​ hot meals. ⁣It ⁤said the facility “provides nutritionally adequate meals” following the requirements‍ of a national menu that is “analyzed yearly to ensure all dietary requirements are met.”

Bankman-Fried was jailed after sharing the personal writings of his former romantic partner and colleague, Caroline Ellison, with a New York Times reporter. Ellison, who had been Alameda’s chief executive, is one of three former members of his inner circle ⁢who have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him at trial.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy in ‍New York Editing by Will Dunham and Matthew⁣ Lewis)