Court to Determine Fate of Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried: Incarceration Decision Pending

A New York judge will make a decision on Friday, starting at 2 p.m. ET, concerning whether Sam Bankman-Fried should be sent to jail.

Federal prosecutors have requested U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to revoke the bail of the FTX founder due to alleged witness tampering. If Judge Kaplan agrees with the government, Bankman-Fried will be taken into custody directly from a court hearing in Manhattan and will be held until his criminal trial, scheduled to start on Oct. 2.

Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bail package, requiring him to stay at his parents’ house in Palo Alto, California, since his arrest in December.

This court appearance by Bankman-Fried is the latest in a series of pre-trial hearings regarding his interactions with the media, which the Justice Department refers to as a “pattern of witness tampering and evading his bail conditions.” Judge Kaplan had previously warned Bankman-Fried sternly in July about his conversations with the press.

The press, including legal representatives for The New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have submitted letters opposing Bankman-Fried’s detention, citing concerns about freedom of speech. Defense lawyers have also argued that Bankman-Fried was exercising his First Amendment rights and did not violate any bail conditions by speaking with journalists.

The discovery process has also been beneficial to Bankman-Fried’s case. Lawyers representing the former FTX chief argue that his imprisonment would hinder his ability to adequately prepare for trial, given the massive amount of discovery documents accessible only through an internet-connected computer.

In the motion requesting Bankman-Fried’s detention, the government states that the defendant sent over 100 emails to the media and made over 1,000 phone calls to members of the press in recent months. The prosecutors highlight Bankman-Fried’s decision to leak private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to the New York Times as the final straw. Ellison, who was formerly the CEO of Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, has been cooperating with the government since December and is expected to be a key witness in the prosecution’s case.

The government claims that Bankman-Fried’s revised bail conditions, which include restricted internet access and a ban on smartphone use, were meant to limit his online and telephonic communication. The prosecution adds that Bankman-Fried had numerous lengthy phone calls with one of the Times’ authors before the publication of the story, suggesting an attempt to discredit Ellison and intimidate her indirectly through the press.

Prosecutors had to revise the charges twice to comply with an extradition agreement with The Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was previously held in custody. The government plans to file a new superseding indictment next week, as stated in a letter to the judge.