Security News > 2023 > August > FTX crypto-clown Sam Bankman-Fried couldn't even do house arrest. Now he's in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried, former chief executive of crypto-disaster FTX, who has been awaiting trial for his firm's failure while in home detention with his family, has been sent to jail for attempting to intimidate witnesses.

On Friday, at a hearing in New York City, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked SBF's bail based on American prosecutors' concern that SBF was trying to tamper with the pending trial by sharing personal writings stored in Google Docs from Caroline Ellison, former CEO of FTX-affiliated Alameda Research and a former romantic partner, with the New York Times.

Following the judge's ruling, as noted by Inner City Press, US Marshals removed SBF's jacket, tie, and shoelaces, and took the former exec into custody in handcuffs.

FTX inner circle helped itself to $3.2B, liquidators say Inside FTX: Jokes about misplaced funds, diabolical IT, poor oversight, and worse Sam Bankman-Fried charged with bribing Chinese officials.

SBF's attorneys argued that SBF's contact with the press was allowed under the First Amendment, a claim the government rejected because witness tampering is not protected speech.

The former exec faces two trials, one scheduled for October, and a second, based on subsequent bribery charges, set for March 2024.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/08/11/sam_bankman_fried_jailed/