Bankman-Fried attended the bail hearing on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan before a magistrate judge. He didn't plead; the judge hearing his case will do so later.
Sam Bankman-Fried's extraordinary story is far from over, as he arrived in the United States today and was charged with eight financial charges when he appeared before a judge in the Southern District of New York.
SBF received a $250 million bail after the court, according to Matthew Russell of SDNY Live. The defendant, his parents, and a non-family member signed the bail, which was secured by the defendant's parent's Palo Alto home. Its terms require him to stay with them and give his assent to electronic monitoring.
CRYPTO FRAUD IN THE COURT: #FTX Sam Bankman-Fried Freed on $250 Million Bail to Palo Alto Home of Parents - Inner City Press story and thread https://t.co/Z05xuMtA72 @SubstackInc https://t.co/M0b8ruiHl7
— Matthew Russell Lee (@MatthewLeeICP) December 22, 2022
According to Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos, the amount is the "largest ever pre-trial bond" as he stated:
Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos: For bail, you must consider the weight of the evidence. This was a fraud of epic proportions. If that was the only test, detention would likely be appropriate. But he voluntarily consented to extradition. That should be given weight
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 22, 2022
Bankman-Fried did not pose a threat to the public in terms of potential financial crimes in the future, according to US Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein, and there was minimal likelihood that he would get away from his captors.
Gorenstein read SBF his charges, which made clear the justifications for the numerous allegations of financial crime.
While trade swaps are mentioned in the claims of commodities fraud, the allegations of securities fraud center on providing misleading information about FTX's financial situation, and the allegation of wire fraud relates to the agreement to deceive FTX customers.
SBF is also charged with violating money laundering and political finance regulations.
After being denied bail in Nassau and being taken to the notorious Fox Hill prison, Bankman-Fried had a change of heart. But because of ambiguity at the Bahamas Magistrate's Court, his departure from the island aboard a US government-chartered jet on Wednesday night was postponed.
Two of Bankman-closest Fried's associates, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang, pleaded guilty pleas to fraud that same evening and were cooperating with the prosecution.
In a series of media appearances since FTX declared bankruptcy in November, Bankman-Fried has attempted to refute the bankruptcy filing by arguing that intentional fraud, rather than management mistakes, was to blame for the exchange's death.
