NEW YORK (AP) — Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried walked out of a Manhattan courthouse with his parents on Thursday after agreeing to sign $250 million bail and keep him in their home Californian awaiting trial for defrauding investors and looting. customer deposits on its FTX trading platform.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in federal court that Bankman-Fried, 30, “committed fraud of epic proportions.” Roos offered strict bail conditions, including the $250 million bond — which he said would be the largest federal pre-trial bond ever — and house arrest at his parents’ homes. relatives in Palo Alto.
A significant reason for allowing bail was that Bankman-Fried, who had been imprisoned in the Bahamas, had agreed to be extradited to the United States, Roos said.
Reunited with his parents and lawyers inside the courthouse, a seemingly silent Bankman-Fried shook hands with a supporter before walking out, where photographers and video crews rushed him until he leaves by car.
Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein agreed to bail and house arrest, although he demanded that an electronic monitoring bracelet be affixed to Bankman-Fried before leaving the courthouse. Roos had recommended that he be tied down in California on Friday.
Bankman-Fried was chained at the ankles as he entered the courtroom in a suit and tie to sit between his lawyers. He did not speak at the hearing except to respond to the judge. Near the end, Gorenstein asked him if he understood he would face arrest and owe $250 million if he chose to flee.
“Yes, I do,” Bankman-Fried replied.
Shortly after, the hearing ended and Bankman-Fried, hands in the front pockets of his pants, was led away by two U.S. Marshals. His next court appearance was scheduled for January 1. 3, when he must appear before the judge presiding over the case.
His bail conditions also require that he not open any new lines of credit, start a business, or undertake financial transactions over $1,000 without government or court approval.
The bond had to be secured by the equity in his parents’ home and the signatures of them and two other financially responsible people with considerable assets, Roos said. The bond was described as a “personal commitment bond”, which meant that the guarantee did not need to meet the amount of the bond.
the banker Fried, arrested in the Bahamas last week, was flown to New York on Wednesday evening after deciding not contest his extradition.
While in the air, the Manhattan US attorney announced that two of Bankman-Fried’s closest associates had also been charged and that on Monday secretly pleaded guilty.
Carolyn Ellison, 28, former chief executive of Bankman-Fried trading firm Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, co-founder of FTX, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and commodity fraud.
US Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that the two were cooperating with investigators and agreed to participate in any prosecution. He warned others who had instituted the alleged fraud to come forward.
“If you participated in a foul at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead,” he said. “We are moving fast and our patience is not eternal.”
Prosecutors and regulators allege that Bankman-Fried was at the center of several illegal schemes to use clients’ and investors’ money for personal gain. He faces decades in prison if convicted on all counts.
In a series of interviews before his arrest, Bankman-Fried said he never intended to defraud anyone.
Bankman-Fried is accused of using money, illegally taken from FTX clients, to enable transactions at Alameda, spend lavishly on real estate and make millions of dollars in campaign contributions to US politicians.
FTX, founded in 2019, has taken the crypto investing phenomenon to new heights, quickly becoming one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges. Seeking clients beyond the tech world, he hired actor and comedic writer Larry David to appear in a TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, making crypto the next big thing.
Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire, however, suddenly collapsed in early November, when customers withdrew deposits en masse amid reports questioning some of his financial arrangements.
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