Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks to Avoid Jail, Denies Witness Tampering in FTX Case

Founder of bankrupt crypto change FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has sought to keep away from being jailed, denying prosecutors’ accusations of witness tampering that adopted an interview he gave for the New York Times. The indicted crypto mogul additionally argued that revoking his bond would violate his proper to free speech.

Bankman-Fried Says He Never Tried to Intimidate Witnesses Ahead of Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former chief govt of failed crypto change FTX, claims he has by no means tried to intimidate witnesses in his trial set to start in October. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, quoted by Reuters and Bloomberg, he insisted there was no cause for him to go to jail as requested by the prosecution.

Last week, U.S. prosecutors asked Kaplan to jail SBF after an article printed by the New York Times quoted excerpts from a diary written by Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research and his former girlfriend. They accused him of making an attempt to intimidate Ellison, who pleaded responsible and will testify towards him.

Judge Kaplan imposed a brief gag order and gave each side time to organize and submit written arguments earlier than he guidelines on the request. In the letter, SBF’s lawyer Mark Cohen acknowledged that the interview “was a proper exercise of his rights to make fair comment on an article already in progress, for which the reporter already had alternate sources.” He additionally acknowledged:

Mr. Bankman-Fried’s contact with the New York Times reporter was not an try to intimidate Ms. Ellison or taint the jury pool.

Bahamas-headquartered FTX, one of many world’s largest crypto exchanges earlier than it collapsed final yr, filed for chapter safety within the U.S. in November. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December within the Bahamian capital, Nassau, and extradited to the United States to face fraud prices, together with misuse of buyer funds, a few of which had been allegedly transferred to Alameda.

Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not responsible and has been residing below home arrest at his father or mother’s house in California on a $250 million bond. He has ceaselessly communicated with the general public and the media since his arrest, having made 100 calls with the New York Times reporter alone, in response to U.S. authorities.

SBF’s legal professionals declare that jailing him would elevate First Amendment points. “As the government concedes, criminal defendants have a right to talk to the press about their case to influence their public image and try to protect their reputation, as long as the communications are not calculated to pervert the course of justice,” the letter notes. The protection additionally argued that restricted web entry on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the place SBF could be held, would stop him from making ready for the trial.

Do you agree with Sam Bankman Fried’s legal professionals {that a} detention would violate his free-speech rights and hinder preparations for the trial? Share your ideas on the case within the feedback part beneath.