FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried shows up for trial leaner, and with his famous curls cut
- The former cryptocurrency exchange CEO’s thick black hair had long been his trademark and had become the subject of a series of internet memes
- His lawyers had unsuccessfully argued for his release ahead of proceedings, saying he was subsisting on ‘bread and water’ in a facility lacking in vegan options
It was a noticeably leaner Sam Bankman-Fried, his famously unkempt hair tamed and trimmed, who showed up in a New York courtroom for the start of his multibillion-dollar fraud trial.
The 31-year-old FTX co-founder arrived in Manhattan federal court for jury selection Tuesday dressed in a navy suit that seemed bigger on him than in previous appearances. He sat in the middle of the courtroom, flanked by his lawyers.
The suit is one of three US District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered be maintained by US marshals or prison authorities while Bankman-Fried is locked up at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre. He has been in custody for nearly two months since Kaplan revoked his bail for allegedly attempting to tamper with witnesses.
His thinner appearance comports with what his lawyers claimed in unsuccessfully arguing for his release – that he was subsisting on “bread and water” in a facility lacking in vegan meal options.
Bankman-Fried’s newly shorn hair was perhaps the most striking change to his appearance. His thick black curls have long been his trademark and have become the subject of a series of internet memes.