Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to criminal charges and no one knows who posted $250 million bail

In addition to the not guilty plea, Judge Lewis Kaplan granted the defendant’s request not to disclose the names of the signatories to his $250 million bond.

Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to the criminal charges and fights to keep the bond signers anonymous in court.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) said he was not guilty of the eight counts against him during his hearing before Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday. When SBF’s entourage arrived outside the Manhatten courthouse, his SUV was swarmed by press and media reporting that the crowd was so large that “Bankman-Fried’s mother was unable to exit the vehicle“. The bodyguard and SBF security team then escorted the former FTX executive into the courthouse.

If SBF fails to appear in court or fails to meet the terms of his bond, his parents’ house in Palo Alto could be put to use, and the signers could be required to cover the remainder of the bond. Judge Lewis Kaplan approved the motion to keep the names of the two signers under seal, although documents were filed in opposition. Matthew Russell Lee stated: that usually “the names and information of co-signers, including income, are regularly made public in the SDNY district court, for less privileged defendants“.

CRYPTO CONFIDENTIAL? #FTXSam Bankman-Fried Has New Financial Condition Imposed and October 2 Trial Date With Sureties Sealed Without Prejudice to Opposition – Inner City Press story: https://t.co/YOaCefOwig Opposition here, more coming https://t.co/Kgdbybuh63

– Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 3, 2023

Russell Lee has detailed to Inner City Press that he filed an objection to the sealing and also mentioned that Judge Kaplan set a new bail condition for the defendant. SBF is now not allowed to access funds associated with FTX or Alameda Research while under house arrest. “The prosecutor did not request an internet condition, as they request in other cases“, said Russell Lee. After SBF’s not guilty plea, Judge Kaplan set the trial for October 2, 2023.