Sam Bankman-Fried court sketches show embattled FTX founder with shorter hair and significant weight loss – after complaining he wasn’t getting enough to eat on his vegan diet in prison
- Bankman-Fried, 31, stood in court looking dramatically slimmed down
- The former cryptocurrency billionaire also ditched his famous long locks
- He faces a slew of fraud charges related to FTX’s 2022 collapse
Sam Bankman-Fried began his fraud trial looking dramatically slimmed down – after previously complaining he was not being given enough food by prison officials as he stuck to his strict vegan diet.
The alleged cryptocurrency fraudster, 31, was in Manhattan court for the first time on Tuesday to appear before a jury, where he is accused of embezzling money from FTX customers and funneling it to his hedge fund Alameda Research.
The 31-year-old had ditched his famous long locks and wore a form-fitting suit with a yellow tie for his court appearance.
His alleged $8 billion scheme has been labeled “one of the largest financial frauds in American history.” But his trial preparations were disrupted, his lawyers allege, after he was sent behind bars on August 11 when his record $250 million bail was revoked.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers claimed last month that he was put on a ‘meat diet’ and forced to live on bread, water and peanut butter – which his lawyers called ‘outrageous’.
Sam Bankman-Fried began his fraud trial with a dramatically slimmed-down appearance
Court sketches showed the results of his strict vegan diet – which his lawyers claimed left him not getting enough food behind bars –
Bankman-Fried, 31, is accused of embezzling money from FTX clients and funneling it to his hedge fund Alameda Research
After the former billionaire was sent behind bars to await trial on August 11 (pictured in court that day), his lawyers claimed he was put on a ‘meat diet’ and forced to subsist on bread, water and peanut butter .
Before his trial, which could see him serve up to 115 years in prison, Bankman-Fried cut the unkempt haircut that became a key part of his image before FTX collapsed.
It is unclear where Bankman-Fried got the haircut, but inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he is being held, are given access to a hairdresser.
While complaining about his prison diet, Bankman-Fried’s legal team also claimed that he was unable to prepare for his trial due to the conditions at Brooklyn’s infamous Metropolitan Detention Center.
The former financial wunderkind has seen a catastrophic fall from grace after launching his cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019, which grew into a platform worth tens of billions of dollars within a few years.
He lived lavishly and made a series of extravagant purchases – including lucrative political donations – while recruiting A-list celebrities such as Tom Brady and Larry David to promote his status.
But when the company suffered a catastrophic collapse in November 2022, its customers were left without about $10 billion, prosecutors allege.