FTX Founder Unable to Concentrate on Trial, Needs More Adderall

• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been unable to concentrate on presenting his defense, lawyers claim.
• The lawyers asked Judge Lewis Kaplan to allow SBF to take a “12-hour extended-release 20-mg dose of Adderall.”
• They also asked if they could provide SBF with the prescribed medication during the trail at the District Court.
• The lawyers wanted to sort the issue with the Bureau of Prisons but it did not respond to calls and emails.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has been unable to focus on his own trial, according to the lawyers representing the disgraced crypto entrepreneur, who is also known as SBF in the digital asset sector. Interestingly, the legal representatives have asked a United States judge for long-release Adderall.

A letter was sent to the New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan on October 15, wherein the lawyers asked if the FTX founder could take a “12-hour extended-release 20-mg dose of Adderall” before he’s transported to trial on October 16. Interestingly, key witnesses, including Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, have testified against SBF until now, revealing shocking information.

SBF’s lawyers claimed that the lack of the prescribed stimulant during trial hours meant that the FTX founder would be unable to “concentrate at the level he ordinarily would.” These comments come at a time when the digital asset sector is left wondering if the former ‘white knight’ of the crypto sector will testify in court. Additionally, the lawyers believe that the entrepreneur won’t be able to “meaningfully participate” in presenting his defense without the prescribed medication.

Despite the lack of his medication during the trial hours, the lawyers claim that SBF has been “doing his best to remain focused during the trial,” said the letter written to Judge Kaplan. Moreover, even if Bankman-Fried is allowed the medication during trial hours, there’s “no way of knowing at present whether the extended-release dose will be effective,” the letter added.

The legal representatives of the FTX founder asked the court to stop the trial for one day, i.e., Tuesday, October 17, if SBF could not take the long-release dose or if the medication didn’t work, so they could “find a solution that will work for the remainder of [the] trial.” The lawyers also asked the judge’s permission to provide SBF with the medication at the District Court during the trial

It was also revealed that the lawyers tried to sort out the issue with the Bureau of Prisons, which did not respond to the calls and emails between October 7 and October 12.

As reported earlier, the FTX estate is currently busy recovering the money SBF sent for promotional content to major celebrities like Shaq O’Neal and Kevin O’Leary.