() — Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has pleaded not guilty to multiple federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges in the alleged theft of billions of dollars from customer accounts.
Bankman-Fried, who is out on $250 million bail, appeared in court federal man from Manhattan dressed in a dark suit.
His attorney, Mark Cohen, entered a not guilty plea, and the judge set a trial date for October 2, 2023.
It also said it would add another condition to the bond and bar Bankman-Fried from accessing or transferring assets from FTX or Alameda.
What is the co-founder of FTX accused of?
Bankman-Fried was charged last month with two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy for his role in what a prosecutor called a “fraud of epic proportions.” Authorities allege that Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX and a sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, used client funds at FTX to cover loans taken out by Alameda, make investments in other companies and donate to campaigns of politicians from both parties. to influence public policy.
In interviews that followed FTX’s bankruptcy, the former cryptocurrency king insisted he had committed no fraud and was unaware that client funds had been misused.
As part of his release, Bankman-Fried is subject to GPS surveillance and is under home confinement at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
Executives collaborate with justice
Two former high-ranking executives at FTX and Alameda Research pleaded guilty last month and have agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in their investigation into FTX’s bankruptcy.
One of those executives, Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s CEO, said in her guilty plea that she “agreed with Mr. Bankman-Fried and others not to publicly disclose the true nature of the relationship between Alameda and FTX, including the credit agreement of Mall”.
Their plea agreements were announced when Bankman-Fried was extradited to the US from the Bahamas. There he was detained by local officials at the request of the attorney for the southern district of New York.
FTX and Alameda filed for bankruptcy in November after facing a liquidity crisis.
In addition to the federal criminal charges, US regulators have filed civil lawsuits against Bankman-Fried, accusing it of defrauding FTX investors and clients. They claim that he “built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors it was one of the safest buildings in cryptocurrency.”
