Manhattan Judge Sets $250 Million Bond and House Arrest for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried


Posted originally on the CTH on December 22, 2022 | Sundance

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried waived an extradition fight and U.S. Marshals flew him from the Bahamas to New York late Wednesday night.  Appearing in a Manhattan court today, the judge set bail at $250 million and permits SBF to remain under house arrest at his parent’s California home until trial begins.

Additionally, it was revealed that Carolyn Ellison, 28, the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, who co-founded FTX, pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud.  Both are cooperating witnesses with the prosecution against the FTX founder.

New York – The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried can post $250 million bond and live in his parents’ home in California while he awaits trial on charges that he swindled investors and looted customer deposits on his FTX trading platform, a judge said Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Bankman-Fried, 30, “perpetrated a fraud of epic proportions.” Roos proposed strict bail terms, including a $250 million bond and house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.

An important reason for allowing bail was that Bankman-Fried agreed to waive extradition, Roos said.

Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein agreed to the bond and also approved the house arrest proposal. He also said Bankman-Fried would be required to get an electronic monitoring bracelet before leaving the Manhattan courthouse.

[…] Prosecutors and regulators contend that Bankman-Fried was at the center of several illegal schemes to use customer and investor money for personal gain. He faces the possibility of decades in prison if convicted on all counts.

In a series of interviews before his arrest, Bankman-Fried said he never intended to defraud anyone.

Bankman-Fried is charged with using money, illicitly taken from FTX customers, to enable trades at Alameda, spend lavishly on real estate, and make millions of dollars in campaign contributions to U.S. politicians. (read more)

There will Never Be a Trial for FTX


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Dec 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

You have to understand the way the government prosecutes its cases. If you look closely, all cases are charged with CONSPIRACY. That means the proof is NOT the crime itself, but only an AGREEMENT to commit a crime. Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who was also the CEO of Alameda Research, a privately-controlled hedge fund, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, have both pleaded guilty earlier this week, according to newly unsealed court documents. That means the case is already over.

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang cut deals so they get less time, or even no time, in return for throwing Bankman-Fried under the bus. They would take the stand and will be prepared by the prosecution and artfully say whatever they are instructed to maintain the government’s 99% conviction rate.

With their pleas in hand, in addition to all the press against Bankman-Fried, there is no way he could ever win a trial. His lawyers will be urging him to take a deal. That will be the end result with no trial and no shot of the truth EVER surfacing. All the money laundering from Democrats funding Zelensky, who then in turn handed cash to FTX who then was the 2nd largest donor to the Democrats for the Midterms, will remain hidden from ever gracing the history books without someone doing a FOIA 25 years from now.

One of the few New York Judges who exposed the corruption in the prosecution, Jed S. Rakoff, wrote: Why Innocent People Plead Guilty. They will threaten someone with 25 years in prison. Plead guilty and say what we need you to say, and you will get 5 years or less.

So, any hope that putting Bankman-Fried on trial is a fool’s dream. The whole money laundering scheme with Zelensky funneling cash back to the Democrats will never see the light of a jury.

The ONLY question will be is he too found dead from suicide? This is the same jail where Epstein supposedly committed suicide. This is the same place they tried to kill me, but I survived after being in a coma for several days. High-profile cases NEVER see the light of day – EVER!