Sam Bankman-Fried Hired Bernie Madoff’s Sons’ Lawyer
But he's still innocent until proven guilty of course
Embattled crypto nerd Sam Bankman-Fried, whose empire of companies disintegrated like an Adderall in a glass of orange juice last week, has retained counsel: Martin Flumenbaum, of the law firm Paul, Weiss, who formerly represented the sons of Bernie Madoff.
We are all entitled to representation in this great country, and Flumenbaum is a fantastic choice for many reasons — he’s gone to the mat for Weight Watchers, junk-bond king Michael Milken, and Enron. And of course, when you and your polycule are suspected of setting fire to $10 billion, you want someone who is well-versed in “white collar matters,” as Flumenbaum is.
Flumenbaum did have some success defending the Madoff sons, Andrew and Mark: in 2013, a U.K. court dismissed all claims against them, including that they “knew of, or suspected” their father’s fraud. (Mark died by suicide in 2010; Andrew of cancer in 2014.)
Bernie Madoff, meanwhile, died in prison with no toes or teeth, Well, we hope things turn out a little better for Sam. Or maybe not, because he’s a huge tool.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated who in the Madoff family Martin Flumenbaum represented. He represented the Madoff sons, not Bernie Madoff.
