Prosecutors ask federal judge to jail Sam Bankman-Fried over witness tampering

Federal prosecutors requested a choose to revoke FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail in a Manhattan courtroom submitting Friday, claiming that the billionaire had violated the phrases of the discharge and repeatedly tampered with witnesses.

“What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming,” prosecutors wrote.

If granted, the order from U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would return Bankman-Fried to jail, months after his extradition from the Bahamas and forward of his anticipated October trial. Bankman-Fried, whose crypto firm sank into chapter 11 final 12 months, faces a number of fraud and cash laundering expenses over his position within the implosion of the multibillion-dollar change.

A federal prosecutor argued in courtroom Wednesday that “no set of release conditions can ensure the safety of the community.”

Prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s crew met in federal courtroom Wednesday after Bankman-Fried leaked the non-public diaries of his former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to a New York Times reporter. Bankman-Fried is barred below the phrases of his bail from typical smartphone entry and has restricted web entry skills.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried’s solely intent in sharing Ellison’s diary was to intimidate her.

Ellison, who was the highest government at Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, has pleaded responsible to federal fraud expenses and is cooperating with the federal government’s prosecution of Bankman-Fried.

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