Sam Bankman-Fried Imprisoned for Tampering with Witnesses
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was imprisoned on Friday as his bail was revoked by the presiding judge in his case. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan determined that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the disgraced former CEO had tampered with witnesses on multiple occasions. Furthermore, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers’ plea to postpone his detention until the appeal was rejected by Judge Kaplan.
Prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried tried to harass a crucial witness last month when he showed a New York Times reporter the personal writings of his former partner, Caroline Ellison. He was a cooperating witness who pleaded guilty in December to criminal charges related to defrauding FTX investors. According to the prosecutor, SBF’s actions were an attempt to damage his reputation and influence potential jurors. Meanwhile, the SBF’s defense team accused prosecutors of using evidence that was full of “tricks, speculation and scant facts.” Judge Kaplan sided with prosecutors, saying Bankman-Fried tried to “tamper with witnesses at least twice.”
Reuters reports that the 31-year-old former FTX boss was ushered out after wearing his shoelaces, jacket and tie and emptying his pockets. The former CEO had been under house arrest in California (at his parents’ home in Palo Alto) since his extradition in December following his arrest in the Bahamas last December. His $250 million bail package strictly controls his Internet use.
