Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has decided to release the identities of the non-parental guarantors who signed Sam Bankman-Fried's $250million bond after demands from media sites including Coindesk and Bloomberg.
Andreas Paepcke, a research scientist at Stanford University, and Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford Law School, where Bankman-Fried's parents are faculty members, are the bond guarantors. Kramer pledged $200,000, while Paepcke signed for $500,000.
Court records state that, without certain restrictions, "all owners of the property guaranteeing this appearance bond" are entitled to claims. Before revealing the identities, the judge awaited Sam Bankman-Fried to file an appeal against an earlier decision.
BREAKING: The two signers of Sam Bankman-Fried's bond have been court order released. They are ANDREAS PAEPCKE (Stanford research scientist) and LARRY KRAMER (Former dean of Stanford law school) Source: @innercitypress pic.twitter.com/YdcubRtsiM
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) February 15, 2023
Between 1974 to 1978, researcher Paepcke attended Harvard University, and from 2004 to 2012, dean Kramer oversaw Stanford Law School while also holding the Richard E. Land Professor of Law position.
After being charged in the US with wire fraud, money laundering, and breaking campaign finance laws in relation to the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, where he worked as CEO, Bankman-Fried was eventually freed on a $250 million recognizance bond.
As a result of his parents' public persecution for pledging their Palo Alto home as guarantee for his recognizance bond, Bankman-Fried had earlier asked the judge to seal the identities of the two non-parental guarantors out of fear of retaliation.
Recognizance bonds don't call for a cash deposit up front, but if the accused breaks the bond's conditions, the court may take the assets pledged. In Bankman-Fried's case, the bond mandated, among other things, restricted travel, location monitoring, and mental health therapy.
Judge Kaplan recently issued an order requiring the former CEO of FTX to appear in court in New York City as a result of allegations that he used a VPN to hide his internet behavior from US law enforcement. Bankman-Fried's attorneys said that their client utilized the VPN to use his international Game Pass membership to view the NFL Super Bowl LVIII game on February 12, 2023.
As FTX bankruptcy processes are advancing quickly in Delaware, attorneys for Bankman-Fried's criminal case defend his right to attend an NFL game.
As users withdrew their funds in response to a tweet by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, revealing the exchange's lack of liquidity, FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022.
Since then, bankruptcy attorneys have been battling to recoup money from investments Bankman-Fried made for creditors.
The ousted CEO deposited $400 million in a little-known hedge firm called Modulo Capital, according to the attorneys' most recent effort at a clawback. Before FTX declared bankruptcy, this occurred. According to reports, the founders intend to provide FTX $400 million in order to escape their legal responsibilities.
The monies were flagged by FTX attorneys for probable clawback to pay FTX creditors on January 17, 2023. The money was maintained by Modulo in a JPMorgan account that earned interest. where they were changed into money just before FTX filed for bankruptcy. The principal broker for the hedge fund was JPMorgan.
