A federal judge decided to revoke bail for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO and founder of FTX. The defendant could remain in jail until the end of his fraud trial.
This Friday, Judge Lewis Kaplan explained that he made the decision after prosecutors informed him that Bankman-Fried repeatedly attempted to tamper with key witnesses in his case.
Prosecutors shared that the defendant not only contacted potential witnesses who would testify against him, but also used a virtual private network to evade surveillance and spoke to a journalist and gave him personal information about Caroline Ellison in an alleged attempt to hurt and frighten her.
"What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming," the Justice Department stated.
It should be noted that Ellison not only served as CEO of Alameda Research but was also romantically involved with Bankman-Fried. Ellison has already pleaded guilty and said she will cooperate with justice by testifying against the FTX founder.
Since his arrest in December, Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bail.https://t.co/kPRM88y0C4
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) August 11, 2023
"My conclusion is there is probable cause to believe the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses on at least two (…) there is a rebuttable presumption that there is no set of conditions that will ensure Bankman-Fried will not be a danger," said Judge Kaplan following information from prosecutors.
However, Bankman-Fried's lawyers assured that they will file an immediate stay of the order and will appeal the imprisonment order because they believed that their client should not be imprisoned for trying to protect his reputation, considering the amount of unfavorable news that has come out about him.
The charges
Bankman-Fried faces more than a dozen criminal charges, including fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and violation of federal laws.
