NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, entered a plea of not guilty in Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday in a case accusing him of fraud and misappropriating customer funds. The 30-year-old is also accused of using investor money to purchase luxury real estate, donate to political campaigns, and take part in high-risk trading via his hedge fund Alameda Research.
READ MORE Judge Approves Secret Deals For FTX Execs To Secure Founder Bankman-Fried To U.S.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, declared his client’s plea of not guilty to all charges. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan then set a trial date of October 2, though he said he could move it up or down by a day or two. Cameras greeted Bankman-Fried as he entered the courthouse carrying a backpack in the rain. After entering his plea, Kaplan discussed with attorneys the timeline for proceeding to trial.
It was decided that defense motions as well as the prosecutors’ responses to those motions would be filed in April with an argument about the motions to be made on May 18.
READ MORE Judge Sets House Arrest, $250 Million Bail For FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Before his arraignment, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys sent a letter to the court asking for the name of two people who co-signed on his $250 million personal recognizance bond to be removed from court documents. They stated that his parents had been the target of a lot of attention and “intense scrutiny, harassment, and threats from the media, including communications expressing the desire for physical harm.”
Judge Kaplan asked the prosecutors to respond and said he would issue a ruling on the matter later. Carolyn Ellison, 28, and Gary Wang, 29, co-founders of FTX who pleaded guilty to fraud charges, are now assisting prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence. They have both been allowed to be released on bail.
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The guilty pleas had been kept quiet until Bankman-Fried’s extradition from The Bahamas, where FTX is based, and his arraignment in the US. Afterward, attorney Damian Williams announced the formation of a task force of senior prosecutors to investigate and prosecute matters relating to the FTX crash. The task force will also be seeking to locate and return assets to victims, according to a press release.
“The Southern District of New York is working diligently to address the FTX fallout,” Williams said. “This is a priority situation and the SDNY FTX Task Force has been created to ensure that justice is served. The team will provide all the necessary resources and expertise to get the job done.”
FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange Boss Denies Fraud Allegations – BBC News
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