Prosecutors with the US Department of Justice have filed a written submission to a federal judge, seeking to revoke FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond and move him to prison ahead of his October trial. This follows Bankman-Fried’s sharing of diaries from former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison with the New York Times. The DOJ filing stated that this qualifies as him trying to harass her to either prevent or otherwise influence her testimony in court.
Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s attorney, said that his client was simply trying to defend himself in public. However, the DOJ argued that what the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the District Court for the Southern District of New York, has ordered the prosecution and defense to prepare formal documents on the DOJ’s move to detain Bankman-Fried. The defense must respond by Tuesday. Bankman-Fried’s trial is set to begin October 2, 2023.