US judge to consider jail Sam Bankman-Fried before FTX collapse trial - here's why
livemint.comReuters. While hearing in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors asked US District Judge Lewis Kaplan to detail Bankam-Fried now. They said that he had crossed a line by sharing his former romantic partner Caroline Ellison's personal writings with a reporter.
Previously, Kaplan imposed a gag order requested by prosecutors for the 31-year-old Bankam-Fried, giving both sides until August 3 to explain their views on whether jail is necessary for the former billionaire. “I'm very mindful of the government's interest in this issue, which I take seriously. Mr.
Bankman-Fried, you'd better take it seriously too," Kaplan said. Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Cohen said that his client was trying merely to protect his reputation by communicating with media persons and that it really would be almost impossible to prepare for the October 2 trial if Bankman-Fried were jailed, Reuters reported. Bankman-Fried has been largely confined to his parent's home in Palo Alto, California, since his extradition in December from the Bahamas, where he was arrested and where FTX was based.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges he stole billions of dollars in FTX customer funds in part to plug losses at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. Ellison, who was Alameda's chief executive, is one of three former members of Bankman-Fried's inner circle who pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. She is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried.
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