Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried on July 13 asked the judge overseeing his criminal prosecution to allow “close friends and colleagues” of the former FTX founder’s parents to visit him at his home without a security guard having to be present or conduct security checks.
Mr. Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States from the Bahamas in December 2022 and is currently confined to his parent’s home in Palo Alto, California.
He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and fraud against the United States in relation to the collapse of the cryptocurrency company.
The former businessman was placed under house arrest after being released on a $250 million bond.
However, as part of his bail conditions, visitors at Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents’ home must abide by certain security measures, according to a letter to New York District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan sent by lawyers representing Mr. Bankman-Fried.
These include signing an electronic visitor log when they enter the property and allowing a security guard present at the house to screen them for any electronic devices.
Close Friends, Household Help
The former FTX founder’s lawyers asked Mr. Kaplan for those exceptions to be extended to close friends and colleagues of his parents as well as “household help that regularly visit the house.”“These individuals are aware of and will abide by Mr. Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions, including the prohibition on sharing ‘Prohibited Electronic Devices’ with Mr. Bankman-Fried,” the lawyers wrote.
“The Government has reviewed the list of names and has no objection to the request,” they continued. “Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Court approve the list of people so that they are exempt from the security procedures referenced above.”
The lawyers further asked the court to keep the list of names under seal, citing privacy and safety concerns which they said “greatly outweigh any presumption of access to the list.”
FTX Downfall
Mr. Bankman-Fried once had an estimated net worth of $26 billion but suffered a spectacular downfall in November 2022 when FTX, once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy protection amid a liquidity crisis.At the time of the collapse, it was revealed that FTX’s sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, had been using FTX customer assets to keep itself propped up.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Bankman-Fried engaged in a scheme to defraud FTX’s customers by misappropriating customers’ deposits and using them to pay the expenses and debts of Alameda Research.
They also accuse him of making “tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions” to both Democratic and Republican candidates and campaign committees that were not under his name.
Mr. Bankman-Fried has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the collapse of FTX.
A trial for Mr. Bankman-Fried was initially scheduled to begin on Oct. 2, but five of the charges he faces were subsequently split into a second trial that will begin on March 11, 2024.
