The former cryptocurrency billionaire is also running low on medications to treat ADHD and depression.
Lawyers to the collapsed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have said that he’s been surviving on bread, water, and peanut butter since his bail was revoked two weeks ago.
The jail where he’s been held pending his trial have not provided him with an adequate vegan diet.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have told the court that he’s been deprived of a vegan diet and adequate food and medication in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer noted that this is hampering their preparation of his October trial.
The FTX founder pleaded not guilty to seven charges contained in a new indictment. The superseding indictment, which was filed on August 14, against SBF was in respect to his donations to US midterm elections campaign.
Apart from his lack of vegan diet, the former billionaire’s lawyers noted that the jail has refused to provide him with his medications. Bankman-Fried is in need of Adderall medication to treat his attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and his supply of Emsam to treat his depression is almost finished.
“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.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ruled that the US Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons, which runs the jail, would address the issues concerning SBF’s medications.
She also said she was confident that the prison offered vegetarian food, but wasn’t sure of the availability.
In a statement to Reuters news agency, 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.”
Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried tribulations continues: Jailed, lawyers plead for access to meds
Bail revocation
Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail was revoked after sharing Caroline Ellison’s private letters with a New York Times reporter. Caroline Ellison was Bankman-Fried’s former love interest and coworker. Ellison has admitted guilt and consented to testify against Bankman-Fried at trial along with two other former members of his inner circle.
Judge Kaplan ruled on August 21 that Bankman-Fried might speak with his legal team on August 22 as part of a one-time release. He was given access to one internet-connected laptop that was WiFi-connected.
Bankman-Fried may be permitted to visit the New York courthouse two days a week, from 9 am to 3 pm, according to his attorneys.
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