Sam Bankman-Fried asks that $250m bond co-signers stay secret after parents ‘are threatened’

As he prepares to plead guilty to federal fraud charges, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked the court to remove the names of two co-signers on his $250 million bond, saying his parents, who also co-signed They have faced threats. and bullying

In a court filing reviewed by DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said her parents, law professors, have “received a constant stream of threatening correspondence” and asked the court to redact the names of two co-signers of additional bonuses.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried will appear before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in a hearing in Manhattan federal court at 2:00 pm Tuesday, where he is expected to plead not guilty to eight counts of fraud.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleges that Bankman-Fried defrauded investors out of $1.8 billion and illegally used FTX client deposits to prop up his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and spend millions on political donations.

Bankman-Fried, whose crypto exchange FTX collapsed into bankruptcy in November, has publicly denied knowingly committing fraud, blaming sloppy bookkeeping instead.

He plans to plead not guilty to all charges, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

After his arrest and extradition last month, Bankman-Fried, 30, was released on bail and lives under electronic surveillance in Palo Alto, California, the home of his parents, both Stanford University law professors.

In their most recent court filing, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys asked Judge Kaplan to seal the names of two cosigners on their $250 million personal acknowledgment bond.

Bankman-Fried will respond to charges set forth in an indictment signed by Damian Williams (above), the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The court-imposed bail conditions required the accused fraudster’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, to jointly sign his bond, but also required two additional sureties to sign separate bonds in lesser amounts.

Now, Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark S. Cohen, says in the filing that the parents have become targets of threats and harassment, and requests that additional cosigners be allowed to remain anonymous.

“Among other things, the parents of Mr. Bankman-Fried have received a constant stream of threatening correspondence, including communications expressing a desire for physical harm,” Cohen wrote.

The lawyer added that “there is serious cause for concern that the two additional collaterals will face similar intrusions into their privacy, as well as threats and harassment” if their identities are revealed.

People walk past the federal courthouse in New York last month. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will appear at a hearing on Tuesday.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been out on bail and lives under electronic monitoring in Palo Alto, California, home to her parents, both Stanford University law professors.

The motion requests that Kaplan “issue an order directing that the names and identifying information of the two remaining warrants be removed from their bonds and not be publicly released by the Government.”

Bankman-Fried is charged with two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy, including money laundering and committing campaign finance violations.

He could face up to 115 years in prison if convicted.

Earlier, two of Bankman-Fried’s top lieutenants pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, in a potentially significant blow to his defense.

Carolyn Ellison, 28, who ran Alameda, and Gary Wang, 29, who co-founded FTX, previously pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a bid for leniency.

Carolyn Ellison, 28, who ran Alameda, and Gary Wang, 29, who co-founded FTX, pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodity fraud.

Both are free on bail and are cooperating with prosecutors in an attempt at leniency before sentencing.

His pleas were kept secret until Bankman-Fried went on the air after his extradition from the Bahamas, where FTX is based, fearing he might go on the run.

Ellison and Wang face decades in prison on their sentences.

FTX, once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy on November 11 after alleged misappropriation of client funds left a multi-billion dollar hole on the crypto exchange’s books.

The collapse of FTX, which had been the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, left creditors seeking to recover billions in claimed losses.

Before his arrest on December 12 in the Bahamas, SBF acknowledged risk management failures at FTX, but said it does not believe he is criminally liable.