Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have appealed a judge’s decision to send him to jail while he is waiting to start trial over several allegations tied to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX on October 3, Reuters reports. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan had previously revoked the FTX founder’s bail, citing an attempt to tamper with witnesses. Bankman-Fried’s attorneys said they would appeal at the same hearing, and tried unsuccessfully to keep him out of jail until the appeal was heard.
The former billionaire crypto mogul had shared part of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s private diary with the New York Times, which Judge Kaplan deemed as an attempt to harass and intimidate her. However, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers argued that It is unclear how a cooperating witness who has promised to testify against a defendant could be meaningfully threatened by nothing but their own statements being published by a reputable newspaper.
Bankman-Fried is currently locked up at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, which his lawyers have argued multiple times interferes with his preparation for trial, which is a constitutional right. He is set to go on trial on allegations of wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and related conspiracy charges.