Sam Bankman-Fried's New Lawyer Defended Jeffrey Epstein's Madam, But Didn't Work With 'El Chapo'

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried went from millennial hero to public enemy No. 1 in a matter of days with the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. 

Bankman-Fried's recent choice of legal defense is raising eyebrows even higher. 

Bankman-Fried faces investigations by several federal agencies, including the SEC, the CFTC and the DOJ, in connection with the $32-billion collapse of the crypto platform along with the associated investment firm Alameda Research.

Related: Who's Benefiting From FTX Collapse? Definitely Not Centralized Exchanges, Says Cathie Wood's ARK

What Happened: Bankman-Fried has retained Mark S. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and a partner at Cohen & Gresser, according to Reuters. 

While he is not charged with any crimes, Bankman-Fried’s position at the helm of FTX could be tied to billions in losses for many of its 5 million active users.

The attorney previously worked as part of Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense team in her sex trafficking case. Maxwell was found guilty of child sex trafficking offenses in relation to financier Jeffrey Epstein, her former employer and boyfriend.

Bankman-Fried’s parents are law professors at Stanford University, and he is also represented by David Mills, one of their Stanford colleagues, Bloomberg reported.

In a Twitter Spaces broadcast on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried said: “I am not sure I will be able to pay all of the legal fees I need to pay.”

The crypto mogul’s net worth has reportedly dropped from over $15 billion to about $100,000 and a credit card.

Cohen Has No 'El Chapo' Connection: According to some reports, Cohen was part of the trial that took down Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, outlets including DailyWire and decrypt.co reported that Cohen was part of Guzmán's defense or prosecution, respectively.

Upon verification, Benzinga found that Cohen wasn't directly related to this trial. Another member of Maxwell's defense, Christian Everdell, who also works at Cohen & Gresser, was a prosecutor in Guzmán's trial and was awarded the True American Hero Award for his work by the Federal Drug Agent Foundation.