Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is shown dozens of photos of the luxurious Bahamas penthouse where the FTX founder lived with eight other employees who each paid $15k a MONTH

Sam Bankman-Fried’s luxurious Bahamas penthouse has been entered into evidence in his fraud trial that could see the FTX founder spend 115 years behind bars.

The 31-year-old was arrested at the exclusive 12,000-square-foot pad at the Albany Marina on Nassau, where he lived with eight college friends after setting up the company’s headquarters there.

On Thursday, the jury was shown photos of Bankman-Fried and two others eating in their apartment, with a large bottle of ketchup and a can of LaCroix in the foreground.

Despite their wealth, the FTX employees living there complained about the penthouse rent, which appeared to be $15,000 each.

During opening statements this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn told the court, “A year ago, it seemed like Sam Bankman-Fried was on top of the world. He ran a huge company called FTX. He lived in a $30 million apartment in the Bahamas. But it was all based on lies.”

Prosecutors allege he used the company as his “personal piggy bank” and illegally used investors’ money to buy Bahamian and other properties and to fund large political donations.

The residents of the building sent group messages with the group name ‘People of the House’.

In one, someone said they would “probably have to pay $15,000 a month,” but said it would be “kind of a pain.”

Adam Yedidia, who worked as a software developer at FTX until November 2022, told the court he quit when he learned that Alamada Research, FTX’s sister company, had used FTX customer deposits to pay his creditors.

On Thursday, he testified that he remembered that the “cost of the rent sounded very high” and was “commensurate with an apartment that cost $35 million.”

It is unclear why FTX staff paid rent when Bankman-Fried purchased the apartment.

At the end of the messages, Bankman-Fried wrote that he “assumed that ultimately it was only Alameda (Research, FTX’s sister company) that paid for it.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon asked Yedidia if Bankman-Fried “slept on a beanbag chair with any regularity?”

The detail was often repeated in profiles of Bankman-Fried to show that he was an unconventional billionaire.

Yedidia said it was “much rarer” than when FTX was previously based in Hong Kong.

In the Bahamas, he “took a nap every now and then, but not that often,” he said.

Yedidia revealed that Bankman-Fried asked for his advice about Caroline Ellison, who was in charge of Alameda.

He said: ‘Sometime in early 2019 the suspect told me that he and Caroline had had sex and asked if it was a good idea to date them. I said no.

“He said he thought I would say something like that.”

Yedidia told the jury that Bankman-Fried told him he was “more willing to take risks than many others” and that taking risks was “reasonable.”

FTX’s systems were so messed up that a computer error made it appear as if the company’s debts were $16 billion – double what they actually were.

Yedidia said that in June 2022 – five months before FTX collapsed – the bug left Alameda owing FTX customers $16 billion instead of $8 billion.

Yedidia said he fixed the bug so the $8 billion figure was restored.

But afterwards, while playing paddle tennis at their luxury resort home, Yedidia said he asked Bankman-Fried if FTX was OK.

He told the court that the $8 billion debt “seemed large to me.”

Yedidia said, “It started with me asking if everything was okay. Sam said something like we’re not bulletproof this year. I asked how long it will take before we are bulletproof again.

“He said, I’m not sure, maybe something like six months to three years. I said, will everything be okay?

“I remember him saying some things that were intended to reassure (me).”

Yedidia said Bankman-Fried looked “worried or nervous” and that he was not normally this anxious.

The penthouse where the group lived has five bedrooms, with the master suite featuring walk-in closets and a private balcony with lounge and spa area.

It has a large living room with an open plan dining area and a beautiful outdoor swimming pool, as well as a family entertainment area, a kitchen with a separate bar and an outdoor BBQ alcove with seating.

It was designed by Morris Ajmi Architects and went on the market for $39,950,000 and an additional $21,000 in maintenance costs.

The property is decorated with Venetian plaster walls with matching Italian marble accents, on top of an LED lighting system and a private garage.

It is understood Bankman-Fried lived in the property with eight of his university friends who helped set up FTX – as well as his then girlfriend Caroline Ellison.

Ellison was one of nine friends who were all reportedly dating each other.

The roommates are reportedly former classmates of Bankman-Fried at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former colleagues at quantitative trading firm Jane Street.

It is also claimed that other housemates included FTX co-founder Gary Want and FTX Engineering Director Nishad Singh.

They all live at the Albany Club, the most exclusive resort community in the Bahamas with members like Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.

General Manager Damien Michelmore sent residents an email updating them that fellow member Sam Bankman-Fried’s company ‘FTX had filed for bankruptcy’ and instructed residents not to speak to the press.

He added, “Out of respect, we offer to all homeowners and members, we have instructed our staff not to speak to the press, and we respectfully ask fellow members and homeowners also to refrain from commenting at this time.”