Dec. 28 (UPI) — The fraud and money laundering case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was reassigned to a new judge after the formerly appointed judge recused herself over a possible conflict of interest.
Judge Ronnie Abrams of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York removed herself from the case last week because her husband is a law partner in a firm that worked with FTX previously.
In Abrams’ place comes Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has presided over a number of high-profile cases in recent years, including a defamation lawsuit brought against former President Donald Trump by E. Jean Carroll.
The 78-year-old is known to be a firm judge. In 2021 he ordered Britain’s Prince Andrew to submit to questioning in a sex abuse case brought against him by an American woman who alleged he raped her when she was a minor. Prince Andrew later settled the case out of court.
Kaplan was appointed to the Manhattan federal court by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He has been a senior member of the court for more than a decade.
Bankman-Fried was released on bond Thursday. He is under supervision at his parents’ home in California. His next hearing is Tuesday.
The 30-year-old former crypto mogul is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, among five additional charges. He was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12, and extradited to the United States early last week.
