Bankman-Fried is believed to have attempted to tamper with witnesses while out of prison.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-disgraced former executive of fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is headed to jail. The judge overseeing his case has found him guilty of violating the terms of his bail too often.
Time to Go to Jail for Sam Bankman-Fried
At a hearing in New York, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Sam Bankman-Fried has too often exceeded his bail limits. He stated the following:
“There is probable cause to believe that the accused has attempted to manipulate the witnesses at least twice.”
Lawyers for the former crypto chief have requested a motion that would allow him to spend time in their offices later this year to prepare for his impending trial, which is currently scheduled for next month. After the judge’s decision was read, Bankman-Fried was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom by U.S. Marshals while his mother held her head and cried.
Prosecutors in the case issued a statement offering more details about what led to the judge’s decision. He said that:
“Faced with a series of conditions designed to limit the defendant’s use of the internet and telephone, the defendant resorted to in-person machinations.”
FTX is likely to be considered one of the biggest debacles in the digital currency space. The exchange, which first opened its doors in 2019, rose to prominence three years later to become one of the top five digital currency trading platforms in the world. Its founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was praised as a genius by many, and his net worth was in the billions as of the end of 2022.
A Great Collapse
Unfortunately, this reputation was short-lived, as in mid-November, SBF complained about a liquidity crisis on social media. He said he needed quick money to keep his business running and eventually turned to his biggest rival, Binance, for a possible purchase.
While things seemed to be moving in that direction for some time, Binance eventually backed away from the deal, claiming that the problems FTX was facing were simply too big to handle.
Thereafter, the company declared bankruptcy and SBF resigned from his position. Things would have been pretty bad if they had stopped there, but the trash meter kept going up.
It was later discovered that SBF had potentially used client funds to invest in luxury real estate in the Bahamas and to repay loans taken out by his other company, Alameda Research.
SBF was eventually arrested and extradited to the United States. He pleaded not guilty and until a few weeks ago was awaiting trial at his parents’ home in California.
How Long Could Sam Bankman-Fried Go to Jail?
Lawyer predicts former FTX CEO could face life in prison if convicted on all seven charges. After a jury selection process on October 3, the trial begins in earnest on October 4, with Bankman-Fried facing seven counts. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
However, cryptocurrency lawyers have stated that the judge is unlikely to be lenient on him. With less than a week until the trial, Michael Kanovitz, a partner at law firm Loevy & Loevy, explained that the outlook does not appear to be very good for Bankman-Fried.
By Leonardo Pérez
