- Sam Bankman-Fried plead not guilty to all 8 criminal counts
- The trial hearing will begin towards the end of this year, in the month of October
- His appeal to conceal the identities of the co-signers of his $250 million bail was granted
FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to defrauding customers at his court hearing in the Southern District of New York. The former crypto mogul has claimed to be innocent of all 8 counts of financial and electoral fraud, according to Reuters.
SBF was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, defraud the federal election commission, and commit campaign finance violations. The former executive will now be heading to court, where he will have to prove his innocence. The trial date is set for October 2, 2023. If found guilty, SBF will be facing up to 115 years in prison time.
SBF looking to conceal bail information
Bankman-Fried secured bail on a $250 million bond from the Southern District of New York Court on December 23, 2022. The conditions for the bail also included constant monitoring, regular mental health checkups, and surrendering his passport. In addition, SBF’s movements have been limited to the Northern District of California, and was released to his parent’s house.
Moreover, according to the latest filing, SBF has requested the court to redact the names of the co-signers of his bail. The reason for this action was cited as privacy and safety concerns of the individuals. Notably, this is the only information SBF seals to conceal from the bail proceedings document. In today’s hearing, this plea was granted, considering the physical threats SBF’s parents have been receiving after FTX’s collapse
Sam Bankman-Fried’s co-conspirators plead guilty
While SBF is making his case, his co-conspirators – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang – have both pleaded guilty to defrauding FTX customers. Ellison and Wang are currently collaborating with law enforcement agencies, according to the Attorney of the Southern District of New York. Moreover, their case came to light a day after Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States.
Meanwhile, another key player in the case – Nishad Singh – continues to be out of the picture. 27-year-old Singh was the former Director of Engineering at FTX and held a 7.8% stake in the platform. The former executive has been missing ever since he was fired, following FTX’s bankruptcy.
This article originally appeared here.
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