- According to the Wall Street Journal, SBF’s personal psychiatrist was on staff at FTX.
- Dr. George Lerner was hired to engage with employees as a “coach” rather than a medical professional, the magazine reported.
- A former employee criticized doctors in a Twitter thread last December.
FTX employees had access to Sam Bankman-Fried’s personal psychologist for advice and counseling during “coaching” sessions. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
Dr. George Lerner was hired by FTX in early 2022 after working as a psychologist at San Francisco’s Bankman-Fried and other tech moguls, according to the journal.
According to the WSJ, an employee at the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange that imploded last year was involved with Lerner as a coach, not as a medical professional. Lerner told The Wall Street Journal in an email that he is focused on creating a sustainable work environment while at the company.
“They were great people. They wanted to make a positive impact on the world. Most of my work has historically been with individuals, so conflict resolution has been the hardest.” ”
Some employees welcomed Lerner to the fray at FTX, while others told the journal that he revealed he could provide employees with drugs like Adderall and Xanax. Employees said they withheld information during coaching sessions with Lerner out of fear that Lerner was too close to Bankmann-Fried, the WSJ reported.
According to the WSJ, Lerner also gave advice to some employees deemed suicidal, and made an effort to help employees go on dates.
“I was very concerned that the lack of dating outside of the big cities would make people less happy or force them to leave the company because of it,” he said. told the WSJ.
In December Twitter thread referenced by the journalformer FTX employee Dani Cloud details several encounters with Lerner, accusing him of being a vehicle for company employees to obtain drugs.
“In true FTX tradition, the Shrink experience consists of being close to the Bankman-Fried family ten years ago and its ability to build a bridge between wealthy children and their insatiable amphetamine addiction. increase.
— Dani Cloud (@daniiicloud) December 14, 2022
Lerner told the WSJ that he is now focused on rebuilding his personal business following fraud accusations against Bankman-Fried after the FTX bankruptcy. His Lerner correspondence with Bankman-Fried has been rescinded, but he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, according to the WSJ.