Sam Bankman-Fried enters not guilty plea for all counts in federal court

Published at: Jan. 3, 2023

Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all charges he’s facing including wire fraud, securities fraud, and violations of campaign finance laws. 

Multiple observers in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 3 reported that Bankman-Fried’s attorneys had entered a not guilty plea on SBF’s behalf in his first court appearance since December. Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal counts which could result in 115 years in jail should he be convicted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, one of the prosecutors in the case against the former FTX executive, reportedly said her team intended to provide SBF’s lawyers with documents of evidence within the next two weeks. The former FTX CEO had been under house arrest at his parent’s home in California since Dec. 22, but returned to New York for the plea hearing.

Sam Bankman-Fried has arrived in court for his arraignment. We’re told he will plead not guilty to all the charges against him. pic.twitter.com/yakSLkOus8

— Connell McShane (@connellmcshane) January 3, 2023

At the same hearing, the judge granted a request from SBF’s legal team to redact identifying information on individuals acting as sureties for his $250-million bond. Bankman-Fried’s parents have reportedly been “the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats” since posting his bail in December.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Tags
Regulation
Law
Sam Bankman-Fried
Crimes
Ftx
Related Posts
Sam Bankman-Fried hires defense attorney as US authorities probe FTX: Report
Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly hired Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor, to act as his defense attorney. According to a Dec. 6 report from Reuters, Bankman-Fried's spokesperson Mark Botnick said the former FTX CEO has retained Cohen amid a flurry of civil litigation from investors in the crypto exchange and investigations by lawmakers and regulators in the United States. Cohen, a co-founder of law firm Cohen & Gresser, was a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York who also on the defense team for the high-profile case involving Ghislaine Maxwell — …
Regulation / Dec. 6, 2022
Former Alameda CEO confirms firm borrowed billions from FTX customer deposits as part of plea deal
Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive officer of Alameda Research, said as part of her plea deal that she was aware FTX funds had been made available for the venture capital firm’s investments. In a transcript of proceedings for her plea deal in the Southern District of New York released on Dec. 23, Ellison acknowledged the financial ties between FTX and Alameda at the center of prosecutors’ case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the former Alameda CEO, Alameda had access to a “borrowing facility" through FTX from 2019 to 2022. “I understood that FTX executives had implemented …
Regulation / Dec. 23, 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried’s father retains attorney: Report
Joseph Bankman, the father of former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried, has reportedly hired an attorney as the criminal case against his son moves forward. According to a Jan. 12 report from Reuters, Bankman retained Sean Hecker of New York-based law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. Bankman-Fried’s father reportedly advised and assisted his son on matters related to lobbying lawmakers in Washington D.C. and may now be cooperating with prosecutors behind SBF’s case. It’s unclear at the time of publication whether Bankman has any criminal or civil liability related to the collapse of FTX, and what information, if …
Regulation / Jan. 12, 2023
Justice Dept defends motion to bar SBF from accessing FTX, Alameda assets
United States prosecutors in the criminal case against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried have released text and email messages from SBF to current CEO John Ray. In court documents for the Southern District of New York released on Jan. 30, the Justice Department responded to a motion from Bankman-Fried’s legal team attempting to remove some of the proposed modifications for his bail conditions, which included barring contact with former and current FTX employees. According to prosecutors, SBF attempted to contact both current FTX CEO John Ray and FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller. In an email to Ray …
Regulation / Jan. 30, 2023
US lawmakers ask DOJ hold FTX execs accountable 'to the fullest extent of the law'
Two Democratic members of the United States Senate have called on the Justice Department to investigate the collapse of FTX and potentially prosecute individuals involved in wrongdoing. In a Nov. 23 letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse requested the Justice Department launch an investigation into crypto exchange FTX’s downfall with the “utmost scrutiny.” The lawmakers cited the impact the collapse of a major firm in the crypto space had had on related companies — lending companies including Genesis and BlockFi halting trading — and funds which FTX …
Regulation / Nov. 23, 2022