Sam Bankman-Fried seeks access to $465M in Robinhood stock to pay his legal fees trends now
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a federal judge to allow him access to some $465 million worth of shares in Robinhood, saying he needs cash to pay his legal fees.
Attorneys for Bankman-Fried made the request in a motion filed on Thursday night with the judge overseeing FTX's bankruptcy, arguing that the 56.3 million shares of Robinhood are owned by an entity that is not party to the proceedings.
Bankman-Fried, whose net worth was once estimated at $15.6 billion, has said that he has about $100,000 in cash reserves remaining after his cryptocurrency exchange collapsed and he was charged with fraud.
After pleading not guilty to eight federal counts of fraud and conspiracy earlier this week, he faces a costly legal battle if the matter goes all the way to trial.
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a federal judge to allow him access to some $465 million worth of shares in Robinhood to pay for his legal fees
'Bankman-Fried requires some of these funds to pay for his criminal defense,' states the motion requesting the release of the shares.
In the motion, Bankman-Fried's lawyers say that the Robinhood shares are owned by Emergent Fidelity Technology, a company controlled by Bankman-Fried.
They argue that because Emergent is not a party to the bankruptcy, a prior request from the FTX debtors to freeze the shares should be rejected by the court.
However, the motion acknowledges that for practical purposes the question is moot, as the US Justice Department has already seized the shares as part of the criminal case against Bankman-Fried.
On Wednesday, US prosecutors confirmed they are are in the process of seizing the Robinhood shares in .
The Department of Justice did not believe the 56 million shares of Robinhood, worth about $465 million, were property of a bankruptcy estate, US attorney Seth Shapiro told US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing the FTX bankruptcy.
Shapiro said that
