FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried makes his way to Manhattan Federal Court for a court appearance in New York, United States on June 15, 2023.
Fatih Aktas/ | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be incarcerated on Friday following a judge’s decision to grant federal prosecutors’ request to revoke his bail due to alleged witness tampering. Bankman-Fried will be taken into custody directly after a court hearing in New York and will remain incarcerated until his criminal trial, which is scheduled to commence on October 2.
Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Bankman-Fried’s appeal for delayed detention pending further review.
Bankman-Fried has been out on a $250 million bail package since his arrest in December, with a requirement to stay at his parents’ residence in Palo Alto, California.
Bankman-Fried’s appearance in court on Friday is the latest in a series of pre-trial hearings concerning his interactions with the media, which the Justice Department describes as a “pattern of witness tampering and evading bail conditions.”
Judge Kaplan previously issued a clear warning to Bankman-Fried in July regarding his communication with the press.
Representatives of the press, including The New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, submitted letters opposing Bankman-Fried’s detention, citing concerns about freedom of speech. Defense attorneys also argued that Bankman-Fried was exercising his first amendment rights and had not violated any bail conditions by speaking with journalists.
The defense had hoped that the discovery process would benefit Bankman-Fried’s case.
Lawyers representing the former FTX CEO emphasized that his incarceration would hinder his ability to adequately prepare for trial, given the extensive amount of discovery documents, accessible only through a computer with internet access.
In the motion requesting Bankman-Fried’s detention, the government stated that the defendant had sent over 100 emails to the media and made over 1,000 phone calls to press members in recent months. Prosecutors claim that Bankman-Fried crossed the line when he leaked private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to The New York Times. Ellison had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges in December 2022.
Ellison, who also served as the former CEO of Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, has been cooperating with the government and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution.
The government pointed out that Bankman-Fried engaged in over 100 phone calls with one of the authors of the Times article before its publication, many lasting approximately 20 minutes.
The prosecution characterized Bankman-Fried’s actions as an attempt to discredit Ellison, referring to it as a “means of indirect witness intimidation through the press.”
Judge Kaplan found this argument compelling enough to order Bankman-Fried’s imprisonment pending trial.
The prosecution has had to revise the charges twice to comply with an extradition agreement made with The Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was previously held in custody. The government informed the Judge in a letter that it plans to file a new superseding indictment next week.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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