SBF Claims Robinhood Shares Necessary for Personal Legal Defense

The shares, once worth more than $600 million, have plunged since they’ve been stuck in legal limbo

article-image

HDmytro/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Sam Bankman-Fried is fighting to retain control of his some $450 million worth of Robinhood stock prosecutors staked claim over on Wednesday, a new court filing shows. 

The Department of Justice, which moved to take custody of the shares Wednesday, claims the stock should not be included in FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. Meanwhile, FTX’s creditors hope the shares can help make them whole, and Bankman-Fried said he needs the funds to cover his legal fees.  

“Mr. Bankman-Fried requires some of these funds to pay for his criminal defense,” the filing read, noting that the disgraced FTX founder is “facing potential criminal liability.” Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges, including wire fraud and campaign finance violations, in New York Tuesday. 

Bankman-Fried’s move is the latest in an ongoing ownership dispute over the shares. The equities, once worth more than $600 million, have plunged since they’ve been stuck in legal limbo. 

More than 56 million Robinhood shares are on the line, worth a little more than $450 million as of Friday’s prices, Thursday’s court filing revealed. The shares belong to Emergent Fidelity Technologies, of which Bankman-Fried is the 90% stockholder, the filing added. 

In May 2022, “Mr. Bankman-Fried and Zixiao (“Gary”) Wang borrowed the funds for Emergent to purchase the Robinhood Shares from Alameda,” the filing read. 

Representing Bankman-Fried in the bankruptcy proceedings is Gregory T. Donilon from Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP. 

Bankman-Fried’s criminal lawyers are Cohen & Gresser’s Christian R. Everdell and Mark Stewart Cohen, who recently represented Ghislaine Maxwell in her sex trafficking case. 

Bankman-Fried’s personal legal fees are not public, but Sullivan and Cromwell LLC, the firm leading FTX’s restructuring, accepted a $12 million retainer from the exchange before it filed for Chapter 11 on Nov. 11, 2022. As of Nov. 3, 2022, the firm had already cashed in more than $3.4 million of its retainer, nearly 30%.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

EtherFi, the largest liquid restaking protocol, is repositioning itself as a consumer-facing crypto neobank. Beyond staking, it is building a revenue mix around cards, vaults, and trading, aiming to capture sustainable front-end economics in DeFi. The shift highlights EtherFi’s ambition to expand from infrastructure into a full financial platform.

article-image

Legion’s reputation-based fundraising will expand through Kraken Launch, offering compliant and transparent token sales to global investors

by Blockworks /
article-image

Blockchain protocol introduces XPL token and zero-fee transfers as it targets global stablecoin adoption

by Blockworks /
article-image

With rate cuts priced in and deeper liquidity, it’s not surprising to see certain speculative assets getting a bid

article-image

Lending giant is moving to ERC‑4626 share accounting and preparing to shutter underperforming networks, with 86% of revenue on Ethereum mainnet

article-image

The payments firm introduces a USDC-based app on Stellar, aiming to modernize remittances in volatile currency markets

by Blockworks /
article-image

MarginFi fixed a flaw that could have let attackers borrow funds without repayment

by Blockworks /