Sam Bankman-Fried raised eyebrows when he hired Mark Cohen, the same attorney who represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her high-profile sex-trafficking trial. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and co-founder of the law firm Cohen & Gresser, was part of Maxwell’s defense team that argued she was being scapegoated for Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Bankman-Fried brought Cohen on to lead his defense following his arrest in late 2022, a move that immediately sparked comparisons between the two notorious cases — both involving allegations of manipulation, power, and privilege shielding elites from accountability.


The decision was strategic, not coincidental. Cohen’s expertise lies in navigating complex federal prosecutions involving massive evidence and global attention — precisely what Bankman-Fried faced in his FTX fraud case. His partner, Christian Everdell, another veteran of the Maxwell defense, also joined the SBF legal team. The pairing signaled that Bankman-Fried’s defense would mirror Maxwell’s in tone and sophistication, emphasizing procedural scrutiny and reasonable-doubt tactics over moral argument — a calculated legal strategy to counter the government’s sweeping narrative.


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