Key takeaways:
- Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly had his bail revoked by a federal judge after allegedly giving material to New York Times reporters to intimidate witnesses.
- Sassoon contended that SBF had allegedly asked witnesses to destroy specific texts and documents.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, reportedly had his bail revoked by a federal judge after allegedly giving material to New York Times reporters to intimidate witnesses.
According to witnesses at a hearing on August 11 in the Southern District of New York’s United States District Court, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked SBF’s bail, indicating that he would remain behind bars until the conclusion of his two fraud trials connected to his work at FTX.
SBF’s $250 million bond, which had kept him out of detention since his arraignment in December 2022, had been challenged by the prosecution.
According to Kaplan, information was likely shared during SBF’s discussions with New York Times journalists with the purpose to “hurt and frighten” Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, who was also his former coworker and girlfriend.
In response to confirmation from SBF’s legal team that he had given the journalists some of the information that was revealed, Kaplan issued a gag order prohibiting extrajudicial disclosures about the criminal case.
FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller received a message on the Signal app from SBF in January. He also used a virtual private network for his internet activity and provided information to reporters to intimidate Ellison, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon.
If the judge orders SBF to be remanded, Sassoon said the Putnam County Correctional Facility would be willing to provide him with a laptop, but she also said home detention with Google Drive limitations was an option. Kaplan stated:
“All things considered, I am going to revoke bail.”
According to reports, Sassoon contended that SBF had allegedly asked witnesses to destroy specific texts and documents. In order to coordinate with the defense team, SBF’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, is said to have pressed the judge to prolong SBF’s bail terms and emphasized that any claims of witness intimidation will be a subject of his October trial.
According to reports, Cohen urged Kaplan to postpone his order while the legal counsel for SBF decided whether to appeal the decision or not. SBF was returned to custody, most likely at the Putnam County Correctional Facility, after the judge denied the motion.
SBF might be sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn once the October trial starts. According to reports, he was handcuffed and led out of the courthouse.
According to Inner City Press, SBF’s parents might have been present during the court. When not traveling to New York for court hearings, SBF has primarily been restricted to their California residence.
Twelve criminal charges against SBF will be heard in two trials, starting in October 2023 and March 2024. Despite the constraints of an extradition agreement with the Bahamas forcing prosecutors to abandon a prosecution involving violations of campaign finance regulations in July, they declared on August 8 that they would still take the alleged plot into account for a wire fraud accusation.
