FTX case reassigned, Bankman-Fried set to be arraigned next week 

The fraud case on the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been reassigned to a new judge, with an arraignment set for next week for FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Judge Lewis Kaplan was assigned to the case after the first judge assigned to the case recused herself, according to a Tuesday filing in the Southern District of New York. The arraignment was announced Wednesday.

Judge Ronnie Abrams stepped back because her husband’s law firm had consulted FTX last year and “represented parties that may be adverse” to Bankman-Fried or the company, per a separate filing dated just before Christmas.

Kaplan, an appointee of former President Clinton, has overseen a number of other high-profile cases, including a defamation lawsuit against former President Trump. 

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas earlier this month and extradited to the U.S., where he now faces charges that he schemed to defraud investors. 

The failed FTX CEO was released to live with his parents on a $250 million bond and his arraignment is now set for Tuesday, according to the latest filing.  

The collapse of FTX prompted congressional scrutiny and legal action from former investors outraged over billions of dollars lost in the cryptocurrency exchange.