FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has seemingly been doing it tough behind bars, eating only bread with peanut butter to accommodate his vegan diet, while exhausting his supply of prescription medication.
In the same hearing where Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven fraud-related charges, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers pleaded for the former FTX CEO to receive better treatment inside Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), according to an Aug. 22 transcript shared by the Inner City Press.
Bankman-Fried’s attorneys claimed that due to the lack of vegan options provided by the prison, he had been forced to subsist on a diet of bread, peanut butter and water. The former FTX boss refused to eat the “flesh diet” being served at the MDC.
Mark Cohen: They are serving him a flesh diet. He is only eating bread and water, and sometimes peanut butter. This is one of the most complex cases in this courthouse. This is outrageous and it needs to be remedied.
Judge Netburn: I will look into this, today
Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, noted that his client hadn’t received his ADHD medication since arriving in prison and was “fearful” they would run out.
“My client takes Adderall... And like many people in the world, he follows a vegan diet. He had not received his Adderall at all, in the last 11 days,” said Cohen.
Cointelegraph uncovered a commissary list from 2020 which reveals that SBF could be paying $3.15 for peanut butter on a menu that consists almost entirely of meat, dairy and fast food.
U.S. Federal Court Judge Sarah Netburn said she’d look further into Bankman-Fried’s treatment.
Related: Sam Bankman-Fried prosecutors submit proposed jury instructions for trial
Bankman-Fried’s legal team argued that his
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