Top Dem Donor And Alleged Fraudster Headed To Jail After Judge Revokes Bail

Disgraced former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried is going to jail after a judge revoked his bail on Friday, according to Reuters.

The judge found probable cause that Bankman-Fried tampered with witnesses two or more times, and the Democratic megadonor will be in jail until his October trial, according to Reuters. Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried, cried and his father, Joseph Bankman, held his hand over his chest as the alleged fraudster was guided away.

Prosecutors requested SBF’s detainment in jail until his trial scheduled for October due to alleged witness tampering, but the former FTX CEO’s lawyer asserted this would violate his First Amendment freedoms in a letter filed on August 1.

Bankman-Fried allegedly leaked his former girlfriend and business partner Caroline Ellison’s diary entries to The New York Times, according to CNN Business.

The Bahamas extradited Bankman-Fried to the United States when his cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in December, according to the NYT. Since then, he has been under house arrest at his parents’ California home on a $250 million bond, according to NPR.

Bankman-Fried is set to face seven charges during his upcoming trial, such as defrauding FTX customers and lenders, according to the NYT. Prosecutors assert that he masterminded a scheme of diverting billions of dollars from customers’ FTX deposits to fund campaign contributions, donations to charities and real estate acquisitions.

Bankman-Fried’s attorney did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.