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The founder of ftx, Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded "not guilty" to eight counts before the Federal Court, including allegations of electronic fraud and campaign fundraising.
Former crypto exchange CEO now in bankruptcy made his second appearance in a New York court on Tuesday. When Bankman-fried appeared for the first time last week, he was released on bail and shortly thereafter returned to his parents in California. His not guilty plea today was expected, according to an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.
Justice Lewis Kaplan, the presiding judge, has set a target trial start date around October. 2 in the scheduled trial of several weeks. American assistant prosecutor danille sassoon told the court that the prosecutor expects that most of the discovery will be completed in the next few weeks. The government will be releasing these documents in the coming weeks.
Justice Kaplan also granted Bankman-Fried's request to seal the names of the additional co-signatories, along with his parents, to his bail of $250 million. The media can object to the redaction of the identities of the signatories of obligations by means of Jan. 12. Bankman-Fried's lawyers had argued that there were safety and privacy concerns with revealing the names of the co-signers.
Bankman-Fried was arrested last month in the Bahamas after a request from federal prosecutors, who unveiled eight different charges against him the next day.
Read more: Understanding the Charges Brought Against Sam Bankman-Fried
Prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried “misappropriated” customer deposits, using client funds to pay for FTX sister company Alameda Research’s expenses and debts, and lied about FTX’s financial health in the process.
Today's plea, that the deep-fried banker can switch, At least right now is setting up a future court trial where prosecutors will explain how they think he violated federal laws by swindling his clients, capital and lenders, and expenses related to election financing by-laws.
UPDATE (Jan. 3, 19:15 UTC): Added decision by judge in final paragraph.
UPDATE (Jan. 3, 19:29 UTC): Added information about target trial start date.
