Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court on Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange. FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research.
A one-time crypto billionaire Accused On separate charges of wire fraud and securities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to evade campaign finance regulations.
Judge Louis Kaplan proposed Oct. 2 as the start date for Bankman-Fried’s trial.
Bankman-Fried arrived at the courthouse in a black SUV and was swarmed by cameras from the moment her vehicle arrived. The scrum grew so thick that Bankman-Fried’s mother was unable to get out of the vehicle, falling to the wet pavement as cameras scrambled to catch a glimpse of her son.
Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before U.S. District Judge Louise Kaplan in Manhattan federal court on January 3, 2023 in New York.
Ed Jones | AFP | Good pictures
Bankman-Fried was dragged through the crowd into the courtroom within minutes, with photographers scrambling to get out of the way.
Earlier in the day, attorneys for Bankman-Fried filed a motion to seal the names of two people who guaranteed Bankman-Fried’s bail. They said the lawsuit and the defendant’s visibility had already put Bankman-Fried’s parents at risk, and guarantors shouldn’t be subjected to the same scrutiny. Kaplan granted the petition in court.
Federal prosecutor Daniel Sassoon told the court that Bankman-Fried worked with foreign regulators to transfer assets that FTX’s U.S. management is trying to recover through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
Regulators in the Bahamas and FTX’s U.S. attorneys have been battling the cryptocurrency worth hundreds of millions of dollars, or even billions, in Delaware bankruptcy court for weeks. FTX’s attorneys assert that Bahamian controllers illegally transferred hundreds of millions of dollars and that Bankman-Fried helped them.
The Bahamian regulators argue that local laws give them jurisdiction over those assets, and dispute the validity of the US Chapter 11 proceedings.
Federal prosecutors agree with FTX’s U.S. attorneys. Sassoon asked Kaplan to impose a new restriction prohibiting Bankman-Fried from transferring or accessing FTX client assets. The judge also accepted the plea.
Banker-Fry Returned to America He was released from the Bahamas on December 21 and released the next day on a $250 million bond secured at his family home in California.
Federal prosecutors announced the launch of a new task force to recover affected assets as part of the investigation into Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.
“The Southern District of New York is working around the clock to respond to the outbreak of FTX,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Tuesday.
The US Attorney’s Office for the SDNY argued that Bankman-Fried used $8 billion worth of client assets for Purchase of luxury real estate And Vanity projectsStadium naming rights and Millions in political donations.
Federal prosecutors produced an indictment against Bankman-Fried with unusual speed, stringing together criminal charges against the 30-year-old in a matter of weeks. Federal charges came with complaints Commodity Futures Trading Commission And Securities and Exchange Commission.
They were assisted by Bankman-Fried’s close associates Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of his hedge fund Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried.
Ellison, 28, and Wang, 29, He pleaded guilty on December 21. Their pleas with prosecutors came after widespread speculation that Bankman-Fried’s onetime romantic partner, Ellison, was cooperating with federal investigations.
Another former FTX executive, Ryan Salem, apparently First alerted regulators Alleged fault within FTX. Salem, the former co-CEO of FTX, flagged the crypto exchange with Bahamian regulators for “potential mishandling of client assets” two days before it filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a filing with the Bahamas’ Securities Commission.
Bankman-Fried was accused by federal law enforcement and financial regulators of what the SEC called one of the largest and most “brazen” frauds in recent memory. His shocking decline was accelerated Reporting That questioned his nature A hedge fund’s balance sheet.
In the weeks following FTX’s Nov. 11 Delaware bankruptcy filing, the extent of Bankman-Fried’s alleged misconduct was exposed. Alternate CEO John J. ray”Complete failure of corporate control.“
Bankman-Fried was indicted in New York federal court on December 9 Arrest by Bahamas law enforcement on Dec. 12 at the request of U.S. prosecutors. Following his indictment, Bankman-Fried’s legal team in the Bahamas Flipped Whether or not their client consents to the handover.
