The U.S. federal judge Lewis Kaplan has rejected a lawyer’s request to delay the sentencing of convicted FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
The legal team of Sam Bankman-Fried asked the court to reschedule sentencing nearly 2 months later from the previously announced date of next year’s March 28 to early-mid May 2024.
SBF was convicted on all seven charges on November 2, which include defrauding investors and FTX customers.
While SBF is set to join a pre-sentence interview with the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Service System, his lawyers asked for some time, arguing that the defense needs more time in order to get ready for the sentencing.
In addition, SBF is also awaiting a trial over the charges of bribing Chinese officials and alleged bank fraud, which will begin on March 11. His lawyers said that the government is yet to decide regarding the proceedings of this trial.
However, Judge Kaplan noted that the defense did not have any objections previously when the sentencing was ordered, and now there is already “enough time” as SBF had six months to prepare for the pre-sentencing interview.
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