FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman Fried (SBF) appeared before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Federal Court in New York. The former executive pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including those related to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, allegedly as part of a plea deal with US law enforcement agencies.
Sam Bankman-Fried has arrived in court for arraignment. We’re told he will plead not guilty to all the charges against him. pic.twitter.com/yakSLkOus8
– Connell McShane (@connellmcshane) January 3, 2023
Is Sam Bankman Fried Too Much?
After his extradition from the Bahamas, Sam Bankman Fried was granted a $250 million bond and released in the custody of his parents. In late December 2022, there were rumors of a potential agreement between the SBF and law enforcement agencies.
The agreement is a source of controversy, as with other facts of the case surrounding FTX and its founders; SBF is expected to plead not guilty. The collapse of crypto exchanges caused users billions of dollars in lost funds.
In addition, Sam Bankman Fried allegedly used customer funds to solicit trading hands, Alameda Research. Thus, a plea of not guilty is part of any arrangement that is considered outrageous by FTX users who are awaiting resolution and blaming SBF for their losses.
Judge Kaplan accepted SBF’s request and set a trial date of October 2, 2023. It remains to be seen if the founder of FTX will keep the request or change it later as part of the alleged deal with the local authorities.
If the case goes to trial and Sam Bankman Fried is found guilty, the former FTX executive could face life in prison or 115 years for his participation in the death of his company. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX CTO Gary Wang entered a guilty plea deal with the US government.
These people cooperate with law enforcement agencies and can provide evidence to convict the SBF if they decide to proceed with the trial.
In addition to the request, the court hearing determined that the people who helped Sam Bankman Fried raise the money for the $250 million guarantee will remain secret at the request of the founder of FTX.
SBF asked the judge to redact the names of the two individuals who co-signed the bond
Who could it be? pic.twitter.com/yp2ZvKLQ2d
– db (@tier10k) January 3, 2023
According to court documents, the US government did not contest the order issued by the court.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $16,700 with a sideways movement on the daily chart.