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Court orders FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried to be confined to parents' Stanford home

Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried post their residence as collateral for son's $250 million bond

Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, will remain confined to his parents' Stanford home as a condition of his bail arrangement, according to court documents filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Samuel Bankman-Fried. Courtesy US Senate via Wikimedia Commons user Pennsylvania2.

Bankman-Fried was released from custody on a $250 million bond, which his parents, Alan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, arranged using their home as collateral, according to federal documents.

Under the terms of the court order, he must remain confined to his parents' home, will be monitored electronically and must have a mental health evaluation and adhere to any treatment. He can't open any new lines of credit, start any new businesses or enter into financial transactions greater than $1,000, according to the order, with the exception of paying for legal costs and fees. His equity interest in his parents' home is to be provided to the court by Jan. 12.

FTX Trading Ltd., the company Bankman-Fried founded, and 101 debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11 and 14. Founded in 2019, the company quickly rose to be the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume with more than a million users, according to financial news reports.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was charged on Dec. 9 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud on customers of FTX.com by misappropriating customer deposits and using the deposits to pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried; conspiracy to commit wire fraud on vendors for misrepresenting the financial condition of Alameda Research; conspiracy to commit commodities fraud; conspiracy to commit securities fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws for making financial contributions to federal officials and fundraising campaigns under the names of other people in excess of $25,000, which violates federal law.

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On Thursday, security preparations were underway outside his parents' home on the Stanford University campus, according to a video posted on Twitter. Alan Joseph Bankman, known as Joseph Bankman, is a professor at Stanford Law School and a scholar on tax law. Barbara Fried is a professor of law emerita at Stanford Law School, according to their online Stanford University biographies.

The case will continue to be overseen by the federal court in New York and in the U.S. District Court in Northern California, according to the court order regarding Bankman-Fried's release.

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Editor's note: A previous version of this story based on a federal court order stated that Bankman-Fried was staying in Palo Alto rather than Stanford.

Sue Dremann
 
Sue Dremann is a veteran journalist who joined the Palo Alto Weekly in 2001. She is a breaking news and general assignment reporter who also covers the regional environmental, health and crime beats. Read more >>

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Court orders FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried to be confined to parents' Stanford home

Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried post their residence as collateral for son's $250 million bond

by / Palo Alto Weekly

Uploaded: Fri, Dec 23, 2022, 9:35 am
Updated: Sat, Dec 24, 2022, 1:35 pm

Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, will remain confined to his parents' Stanford home as a condition of his bail arrangement, according to court documents filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Bankman-Fried was released from custody on a $250 million bond, which his parents, Alan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, arranged using their home as collateral, according to federal documents.

Under the terms of the court order, he must remain confined to his parents' home, will be monitored electronically and must have a mental health evaluation and adhere to any treatment. He can't open any new lines of credit, start any new businesses or enter into financial transactions greater than $1,000, according to the order, with the exception of paying for legal costs and fees. His equity interest in his parents' home is to be provided to the court by Jan. 12.

FTX Trading Ltd., the company Bankman-Fried founded, and 101 debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11 and 14. Founded in 2019, the company quickly rose to be the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume with more than a million users, according to financial news reports.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was charged on Dec. 9 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud on customers of FTX.com by misappropriating customer deposits and using the deposits to pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried; conspiracy to commit wire fraud on vendors for misrepresenting the financial condition of Alameda Research; conspiracy to commit commodities fraud; conspiracy to commit securities fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws for making financial contributions to federal officials and fundraising campaigns under the names of other people in excess of $25,000, which violates federal law.

On Thursday, security preparations were underway outside his parents' home on the Stanford University campus, according to a video posted on Twitter. Alan Joseph Bankman, known as Joseph Bankman, is a professor at Stanford Law School and a scholar on tax law. Barbara Fried is a professor of law emerita at Stanford Law School, according to their online Stanford University biographies.

The case will continue to be overseen by the federal court in New York and in the U.S. District Court in Northern California, according to the court order regarding Bankman-Fried's release.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story based on a federal court order stated that Bankman-Fried was staying in Palo Alto rather than Stanford.

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