SBF asks judge to keep the identifies of his bail sureties confidential

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has asked federal judge Louis Kaplan to keep the identity of his additional bail bond secret. Judge Kaplan was assigned to oversee the SBF’s criminal trial after Judge Ronnie Abrams declined, citing a potential conflict of interest.

and letter On January 3, SBF attorneys asked Judge Kaplan to redact the names and identities of the two individuals co-signing the SBF bail bond. Lawyers also requested that the personal data of individuals providing bail bonds not be released by the government.

SBF was granted bail of $250 million on December 22, 2022. This is the largest pretrial bail in US history. The bond was secured by his SBF parents who pledged shares in his home in Palo Alto, California. The high bail only requires property collateral of about 10% of the bail, paid if the defendant skips town.

SBF and his parents signed a bail bond, but the judge insisted that two other persons with “considerable means” sign the bond, as is often the case with high bail. I asked.

In the case of large bail bonds such as SBF, courts often require multiple signatures as guarantors to guarantee that the defendant will appear in court. Defense attorneys often try to hide the identity of bail bondsmen to protect them from public criticism.

The letter stated that two additional guarantors of SBF’s bail bondsmen were expected to sign by the January 5 deadline.

According to Bloomberg reportthe SBF lawyer wrote in the letter:

“If the remaining two guarantors are publicly identified, they could be subject to media scrutiny and harassment despite having no substantive connection to the case.”

In the FTX bankruptcy case, the judge granted anonymity to FTX creditors, including FTX creditors with substantial net worth who did not wish their names to be made public.

SBF is scheduled to appear in court for the Southern District of New York later today. SBF is reportedly expected to file a “not guilty” petition. In addition to money laundering charges, SBF faces multiple fraud cases, including wire transfer fraud, securities fraud, and commodity fraud.