2-8-2023 (NEW YORK) Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange and currently facing indictment, defended his actions in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan. Bankman-Fried asserted that he never intended to intimidate witnesses ahead of his scheduled October fraud trial and stated there is no justification for his imprisonment.
In the letter, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, clarified that his client’s contact with a New York Times reporter, in which he provided writings from his former romantic partner, Caroline Ellison, who is expected to testify against him, was not an attempt to intimidate or bias the jury pool. Cohen argued that it was merely an exercise of Bankman-Fried’s right to make fair comments on an article that was already in progress.
Sam Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to accusations of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to cover losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research, where Caroline Ellison served as the chief executive. Following his arrest in December 2022, he has been under strict confinement at his parents’ residence in Palo Alto, California, under a $250 million bond.
Caroline Ellison, along with two other former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan.
In light of the recent developments, Judge Kaplan prohibited Bankman-Fried from discussing the case and called for both parties to present written arguments regarding the possibility of jail time. Prosecutors are expected to respond to Bankman-Fried’s letter by Thursday. The timing of Judge Kaplan’s ruling remains uncertain.
