Last updated on August 8, 2023
The law firm representing Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, has argued that he did not attempt to intimidate Caroline Ellison or influence the jury when he shared excerpts from her private diary with a New York Times reporter. Bankman-Fried is currently facing fraud charges and is accused of being responsible for the collapse of FTX. The US Department of Justice has requested his detention and a bond revocation, citing concerns that his actions could have tampered with Ellison, who may be called as a witness in his trial. However, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, have sent a letter to the judge requesting that their client should not be imprisoned for leaking the information. They argue that Bankman-Fried’s contact with the journalist was within his rights to make fair comments on an article in progress, and that he has a right to talk to the press about his case to protect his reputation. They claim that the government’s basis for detaining Bankman-Fried is weak and relies on assumptions and unsupported inferences. Cohen & Gresser also point out that detaining Bankman-Fried would make it difficult for him to fully participate in his defense as federal prison inmates do not have internet access. Bankman-Fried is facing multiple charges, including sharing data from Ellison’s diary. Ellison, who pleaded guilty to her involvement in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse, is expected to testify in Bankman-Fried’s trial. The leaked data from Ellison’s diary revealed that she was unhappy and overwhelmed with her job before FTX’s crash. Ellison herself faced a potential jail sentence of 101 years before cooperating with authorities. However, her eventual punishment remains unclear.
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