The legal team behind the former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned the court to redact certain information on individuals acting as guarantors for $250 million bonds, citing threats made against the family.
In a January 3 letter submitted to Judge Lewis Kaplan for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s legal team requested that the court order the “names and other identifying information” of the two bail bondsmen not be disclosed to the public and redacted from the bond after they signed on January 5. Mark Cohen of the law firm Cohen & Gresser said that if the personal information of individuals is available, they could be subject to the same harassment as the parents of the former CEO of FTX. , Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman.
“In recent weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents have been the target of media scrutiny, harassment, and threats,” Cohen said. “Among other things, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents have received threatening correspondence, including communications expressing a wish that he suffer physical harm. Consequently, there is serious reason to worry that the two additional guarantors will face the same invasion of privacy as well as threats and harassment if his name does not appear to be on the bond or his identity is publicly disclosed.
Fried and Bankman secured their son’s bail in December on a $250 million bond, using the equity of the Palo Alto home where Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest. Cohen noted legal precedent that the lack of public disclosure of others willing to provide SBF financially would “maintain a higher value” and not impede the court’s power:
“If the two remaining guarantors are publicly identified, they will likely be scrutinized in the media, and may be targeted for harassment, even if they have nothing to do with the case. Consequently, the privacy and safety of the guarantors is a greater ‘countervailing factor’ than the presumption of public access to very limited information.
Crypto Twitter users speculated about the identity of the unnamed guarantor, throw Out names include Kevin O’Leary and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. one recommended Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao may have helped Bankman-Fried — an unlikely conclusion given the two crypto heads on social media amid the FTX crash.
Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States after being arrested in the Bahamas in December. He is expected to appear in court on January 3 to reportedly enter a plea of ​​not guilty to criminal charges, which include wire fraud, securities fraud, and campaign finance violations.
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 is confused by SBF’s $250M bond and returns to luxury
FTX founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison have pleaded guilty to related charges and are cooperating with authorities. Ellison also gave a statement in December acknowledging the financial ties between FTX and Alameda at the center of the prosecutor’s case against SBF.