Indicted former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried denies witness tampering allegations leveled against him by federal prosecutors.
According to a new lawsuit, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers say federal prosecutors misinterpreted their client’s intentions to give a New York Times reporter writings from his former romantic partner Caroline Ellison, who is an expected witness in the case against him.
Also, in a separate case, his lawyers say an unnamed witness made contact with their client and that Bankman-Fried only responded to the witness in an effort to assist in FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings.
“The government is wrong. Its version of events mischaracterizes the facts and takes them out of context to portray Mr Bankman-Fried’s actions and intentions in as negative a light as possible.
It is clear from the documents produced since then upon discovery that Witness 1 initiated dialogue with Mr. Bankman-Fried and that Mr. Bankman-Fried’s message to Witness 1 was not an attempt to compromise with his testimony. mess, but om offers itself as a resource in the bankruptcy. Mr. Bankman-Fried used the VPN [Virtual Private Network] to watch football and the government has no evidence to suggest otherwise.
And Mr. Bankman-Fried’s contact with the New York Times reporter was not an attempt to intimidate Ms. Ellison or to sully the jury. It was a proper exercise of his rights to comment honestly on an article that was already in progress and for which the reporter already had alternate sources.
The full file shows that Mr. Bankman-Fried acted in good faith and without any improper or corrupt intent. This record does not support detention under Section 3148 or 3142 of the Bail Reform Act.”
Last week, federal prosecutors asked a judge to revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail, charging him with witness tampering and obstructing their investigation.
“The government is writing in further support of its motion to revoke the defendant’s bail and for the court to issue an arrest warrant. The defendant’s attempts to tamper with witnesses and to undermine the government’s and public’s right to due process and due process, and his pattern of circumventing his bail conditions in that pursuit, demonstrate that no set of terms of provisional release, the safety of the community and that it is unlikely that the defendant will fully comply with the terms of release.”
Bankman-Fried is currently out on bail and lives at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
The former CEO faces a slew of charges related to FTX’s collapse in November, including allegations that he defrauded customers and misused billions of dollars in their money. He is also accused of making illegal political donations. If convicted, he could face more than 100 years in prison.
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