BlocksInform
The legal team behind former FTX president and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried asked a court to redact some information about people acting as sureties for his $250 million bond, quoting threats to her family.
In a letter dated Jan. 3 to try Lewis Kaplan in the District Court of the United States of America in the South District of New York, bankman-fried’s legal team requested the court order “names and other identifying information” of two bail sureties not be disclosed to the public and redacted from bonds once they were signed on jan. 5. Mark Cohen at the Cohen law firm.
"Over the past few weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried's parents have become targets of intense media surveillance, harassment and threats," said Cohen. "Among other things, Mr. Bankman-fried's parents received an ongoing stream of threatening letters, including communications expressing a desire to be physically injured. Consequently, There is reason to be seriously concerned that the two additional guarantors would be subject to similar intrusions on their privacy as well as threats and harassment if their names are not on their bonds or if their identity is otherwise disclosed to the public."
Fried and Bankman secured their son’s release on bail in December with a $250-million bond, using the equity of their Palo Alto home in which Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest. Cohen cited a legal precedent according to which the absence of public disclosure of other persons willing to financially support the SBF would "preserve superior values" and not impede the judicial power of the Court:
"If the two remaining sureties are identified publicly, they are likely to be thoroughly reviewed by the media and could be the target of harassment, even if they have no substantial connection to the case. Therefore, the protection of privacy and the security of sureties are "compensatory factors" which significantly outweigh the presumption of public access to the very limited information at issue."
Crypto Twitter users speculated as to the identities of the unnamed sureties, tossing out names including Kevin O'Leary and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. One suggested BINANCE CEO Changpeng Zhao may have helped Bankman-Fried — an unlikely conclusion given the two crypto head's clashes on social media amid FTX's bankruptcy.
Bankman-fried was extradited to the US after being detained in the Bahamas in December. It is expected that he will appear in person before the tribunal on January 1. 3 to reportedly enter a not guilty plea for the criminal charges, which included wire fraud, securities fraud, and violations of campaign finance laws.
Bankman-Fried set to enter not guilty plea in FTX fraud case https://t.co/Od33DFnwBz pic.twitter.com/gNFZiEpjGV
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 3, 2023
Related: Crypto Twitter confused by SBF’s $250M bail and a return to luxury
FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison have already pled guilty to related charges and begun cooperating with authorities. Ellison also offered a statement in December acknowledging the financial ties between FTX and Alameda at the center of prosecutors’ case against SBF.
