Sam Bankman-Fried Is Going to Jail, Judge Revokes Bail Over Witness Tampering

By Mat Di Salvo

Disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried has been remanded to jail following a bail hearing in New York before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Judge Kaplan said in court today that he didn't believe a gag order—to stop Bankman-Fried from talking to the media—would be sufficient. According to courtroom tweets sent by Matthew Russell Lee, otherwise known as Inner City Press, Kaplan said it's likely Bankman-Fried will be detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He noted it's possible the FTX founder and former CEO may have access to a laptop while he's detained.

Federal prosecutors last month moved to have his bail revoked after the Bankman-Fried was accused of witness tampering.

The allegations relate to Bankman-Fried's interactions with a New York Times reporter who published an article about former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who in December pleaded guilty to fraud related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

In the newspaper story, Ellison said that "running Alameda doesn't feel like something I’m that comparatively advantaged at or well suited to do."

But federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon alleged on July 26 that Bankman-Fried had "crossed the line" by leaking documents to the newspaper.

FTX was a Bahamas-based company that allowed users to buy, sell and bet on the future price of cryptocurrencies. It was also one of the biggest brands in the space.

But it suddenly went bankrupt in November of last year and the feds have since hit ex-boss and co-founder Bankman-Fried with 13 charges—among them conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud on customers.

Bankman-Fried's trial is expected to start in October.

This is a breaking story and will be updated. 

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