Federal Judge Denies Bail For SBF Following Intimidation Allegations

A federal judge has reportedly revoked the bail of the former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), following allegations that he attempted to intimidate witnesses by sharing information with various reporters.

During an August 11th hearing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the bail to be revoked. This suggests SBF will remain in jail for his two upcoming fraud trials related to his activities at FTX. Prosecutors had been advocating for the revocation of his $250 million bail, which had kept him out of custody since his arraignment in December 2022.

Judge Kaplan stated that the interactions with the reporters were likely intended to intimidate the former colleague and girlfriend of SBF, Caroline Ellison, who is also the former CEO of Alameda Research. The legal team representing SBF confirmed his engagement with the reporters, prompting Kaplan to impose a gag order preventing any extrajudicial statements about the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon cited instances where SBF violated previous bail conditions, including communicating on the Signal app, using a virtual private network for Internet activity, and sharing information with reporters to intimidate Ellison.

Sassoon also argued that SBF allegedly asked witnesses to delete certain messages and documents, asserting that he was attempting to interfere with the trial. His attorney, Mark Cohen, requested that his bail conditions continue, emphasizing the need for coordination with the legal team and suggesting that allegations of witness intimidation be addressed during the October trial.

Cohen further indicated that the legal team planned to appeal the ruling. However, the judge denied the motion and ordered SBF to be remanded into custody, likely at the Putnam County Correctional Facility. He was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

SBF is facing 12 criminal charges divided between two trials scheduled for October 2023 and March 2024. While prosecutors decided to drop a campaign finance violation charge in July due to an extradition agreement with the Bahamas, they indicated on August 8th that they would still consider the alleged scheme as part of a wire fraud charge.