FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly expected to plead not guilty on Tuesday to federal fraud and money laundering charges in New York federal court following his release on $250 million bond.
The 30-year-old cryptocurrency entrepreneur’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where The Wall Street Journal first reported Friday Bankman-Fried will likely appear in person to enter a not guilty plea.
This comes less than two weeks after Bankman-Fried was released from federal custody when his parents agreed to sign a $250 million personal recognizance bond and keep him at their Palo Alto, California home on electronic monitoring while he awaits trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said prosecutors agreed to what’s considered the largest federal pretrial bond because Bankman-Fried, who was jailed in the Bahamas, agreed to extradition to the U.S.
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The Justice Department alleges that Bankman-Fried used billions of dollars of FTX customer funds for his personal use, to make investments and millions of dollars of political contributions to federal political candidates and committees, and to repay billions of dollars in loans owed by Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund he also founded. The federal indictment was unsealed on Dec. 13.
Bloomberg noted that Bankman-Fried’s anticipated decision is common, as defendants often plead not guilty at an arraignment to allow time to explore possible defenses or deals with prosecutors for lighter sentences if they decide to reverse their pleas down the line. The Justice Department, though, already secured guilty pleas from Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, on similar federal charges Bankman-Fried is facing. And both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with federal authorities.
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According to the Journal, Bankman-Fried and his associates contributed more than $70 million to election campaigns in recent years. The second largest Democratic megadonor behind just George Soros, Bankman-Fried personally made $40 million in donations ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.