Sam Bankman-Fried was locked in a bathroom arguing with his mother over a text about what clothes to wear to jail when the police arrived to arrest him for FTX fraud
- Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short and Moneyball, has written a new book about FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, titled Going Infinite
- Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial began Tuesday in Manhattan: if convicted on all counts, he could face more than 100 years in prison
- Lewis describes the moment the cryptocurrency prodigy was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried was arguing with his mother by text about what clothes to wear to avoid arrest when police arrived at his penthouse in the Bahamas, according to a new biography.
Bankman-Fried, 31, went on trial in Manhattan on Tuesday, accused of presiding over a massive cryptocurrency fraud.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he used FTX client money from the exchange’s launch in 2019 until its bankruptcy in November 2022 to keep his hedge fund, Alameda Research, afloat; buying luxury real estate; and donate to US political campaigns and candidates.
Bankman-Fried’s parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, were seen arriving at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning. They had not been present on the first day of the trial.
Barbara Fried, according to the new biography, was adamant that her son needed to look more groomed than usual when he was arrested.
Sam Bankman-Fried stands on stage with supermodel Gisele Bundchen at a cryptocurrency conference in the Bahamas. He was known for his wild hair, cargo shorts and t-shirts
Bankman-Fried is seen in court in the Bahamas on December 13, the day after his arrest. He was arrested in his cargo shorts – despite his mother’s wishes – but appeared in court the day later in a trial
The 31-year-old’s penthouse in the Albany marina. He established the company’s headquarters there in the Bahamas
Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, Moneyball and The Blind Side, wrote in his book Going Infinite that Bankman-Fried was locked in a bathroom in the Bahamas penthouse where he lived when police arrived to arrest him on December 12 . 2022.
Lewis describes a “small crowd” of police and other officials arriving at the penthouse, where Bankman-Fried lived with other FTX executives.
According to Lewis, a tall police officer asked, “Is Mr. Bankman-Fried here?”
FTX’s in-house psychiatrist, George Lerner, was in the living room, so the police officer asked if he was Bankman-Fried.
Lewis writes, “At first no one could find Sam.”
Bankman-Fried was in the bathroom texting his mother and arguing with her.
She initially tried to dissuade him from testifying before Congress that he was scheduled to give on December 13.
Bankman-Fried planned to start by saying: ‘I f***** up.’
She then moved on to discussing his arrest, which they all knew was going to happen.
She wanted him to wear long pants, but he wanted to wear his signature cargo shorts.
Barbara Fried, Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother, wanted her son to wear a suit for his arrest
The jury has been sworn in and opening statements are underway in the fraud trial of controversial FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Bankman-Fried, 31, sat in the courtroom on a bench between his two lawyers, wearing a suit with close-cropped hair on the sides
He won the argument, but photos from the day of his arrest show him in the courtroom wearing a suit.
On Tuesday, at the start of his trial, Bankman-Fried’s unruly hair was cut short.
Bankman-Fried has been in jail since August, when his bail was revoked and he was taken from his parents’ Palo Alto home after a judge found he had “attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice.”
His lawyers had obtained permission to provide Bankman-Fried with business attire for the trial, including “appropriate undergarments.”