The U.S. government pointed to potential conflicts of interest between the two crypto CEOs’ cases but added the judges could approve waiving them after a hearing.
The United States government has called for a hearing to address potential conflicts of interest in the criminal cases of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, both under indictment for fraud.
In similar letters addressed to the respective judges overseeing SBF’s and Mashinsky’s cases on Feb. 6, prosecutors raised concerns about lawyers Marc Mukasey and Torrey Young, who have both filed notice of appearances in the criminal cases against the former crypto CEOs. The U.S. government called for a Curcio hearing, in which the judges may ask questions about a potential conflict of interest and why both lawyers were involved in SBF’s and Mashinsky’s cases.
“As the trial evidence in this matter established, Celsius lent money to Alameda Research, and certain loans were repaid by Alameda Research to Celsius using customer funds,” said the letters. “The relationship between Alameda Research and Celsius creates the potential for conflicts in several respects.”
