Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried could be JAILED ahead of trial after ‘leaking ex-girlfriend and star prosecution witness’s love letters to the New York Times’ – as he appears at Manhattan court for bail hearing
- Sam Bankman-Fried could be slapped with a gag order ahead of his October trial
- The FTX co-founder is accused of trying to discredit Caroline Ellison’s testimony
- He is facing over 100 years behind bars for charges related to the FTX collapse
Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried could be sent behind bars until his blockbuster trial in October after allegedly trying to tamper with the testimony of the prosecution’s star witness.
The 31-year-old former crypto billionaire is facing accusations he leaked his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison’s intimate conversations to the New York Times to manipulate the case against him.
US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan is weighing arguments that could see Bankman-Fried ordered to await trail from jail and slapped with a gag order that would prevent him speaking publicly about the case.
He is facing a slew of criminal charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022.
Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon said Wednesday’s hearing saw the government request Bankman-Fried’s bail be revoked, as she also alleged that he was trying to manipulate the case with public statements and had been a source for multiple stories surfacing in the media.
Since he was controversially released on a $250 million bail in December, Bankman-Fried has been hauled before Manhattan court several times for angering prosecutors, including violating his ban on using the internet to stream the Superbowl in February.
Sam Bankman- Fried appeared in federal court Wednesday as he faces a potential gag order
The former crypto billionaire is accused of trying to discredit his ex-girlfriend and business partner Caroline Ellison before her expected testimony in October
Bankman-Fried is accused of trying to intimidate his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison (pictured), who is expected to testify at his trial in October
Bankman-Fried’s defense team said Wednesday they would accept a gag order if the judge hands one down, but asked it to be equally applied to others involved in the case.
They noted that the restrictions on publicly speaking about the trial should count for ‘the government and all potential witnesses in this case’, likely meaning Ellison.
In previous court sessions, Kaplan indicated that he was open to revoking Bankman-Fried’s bail and having him await trial from behind bars.
However, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers combatted claims over witness tampering, arguing in a letter to Kaplan on Wednesday that their client’s frequent public statements are his constitutional right.
His attorneys cited a ‘toxic’ approach from the press that has been ‘almost uniformly’ negative, which they feel means he has the ‘right to counter that public narrative by making fair comment in the media.’
The 31-year-old has made numerous public remarks and blog posts in recent months about his time waiting federal charges, and Sassoon said prosecutors feel they ‘placed too much trust in the defendant’ when they set his bail terms.
She said the prosecution now believes it is ‘not possible to design a set of adequate release conditions’ before he goes on trial, and the only way to protect the case would be to lock him up.
Bankman-Fried could be jailed for over 100 years for crimes related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November
The 31-year-old has been hauled before Manhattan court several times for angering prosecutors
After the government requested Kaplan revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail, the disgraced crypto financier’s defense attorney Mark Cohen said he wasn’t given prior notice over the move.
‘We learned for the first time one minute before court that the government is seeking detention,’ he said, slamming the request as ‘not a proper process.’
He argued that his client hadn’t violated the terms of his bail, adding that the prosecution ‘is pretending it never speaks to the media about this case.’
In a hearing in February, Kaplan placed restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s ability to message ex-colleagues at FTX after he allegedly coercing his former company’s legal counsel.
The move saw him breach the conditions of the largest bail in US history when he sent a text to his former legal team saying: ‘I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. And I know things have ended up on the wrong foot.
‘I would really love to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other. I’d love to get on a phone call sometime soon and chat.’
Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest since he was granted the sensational bail amount last year, remaining in his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
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