Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges at a hearing today.
The 30-year-old former billionaire appeared before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan at a federal court in Manhattan, where he entered a ‘not guilty’ plea for eight criminal charges.
Judge Kaplan set a tentative trial date for Monday, October 2. Federal prosecutors estimated that the trial could take about four weeks.
Bankman-Fried is accused of using funds from user accounts to finance his hedge fund, Alameda Research, as well as to purchase real estate in the Bahamas and make donations to political campaigns.
Bankman-Fried could face a sentence of up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12. He was extradited back to the United States on December 21, where he was released on house arrest after paying $250million in bail.
The former billionaire will be required to live with his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who also co-signed his bond – along with two other unnamed co-signers.
Attorneys for the defendant have requested to keep the names of the other two co-signers sealed, citing ‘intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats’ Bankman-Fried’s parents have received since their son’s return to the US.
Judge Kaplan said he would rule on Bankman-Fried’s request at a later date.
After he was extradited, federal prosecutors revealed that two of Bankman-Fried’s business associates secretly plead guilty to fraud charges and were cooperating with the government.
Caroline Ellison, Alameda Research’s former CEO, pleaded guilty to seven charges related to the fraud. Gary Wang, FTX’s chief technology officer, pleaded guilty to another four charges.
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