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Dec. 22 (UPI) — A federal judge in the Southern District of New York granted bond to one-time crypto whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried on Thursday.
Judge Gabriel Gorenstein agreed to a $250 million bond to allow Bankman-Fried, 30, to be released under strict supervision. He will be required to wear an ankle monitor and is barred from obtaining any new lines of credit.
Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the parents of the disgraced mogul, agreed to post bond for their son, using their California home as collateral. Bankman-Fried will be released to their home as he awaits his next hearing on Jan. 3.
Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas earlier this week after a back-and-forth court appearance on Monday. He agreed to extradition over the weekend before briefly rescinding his consent on Monday. He ultimately agreed to extradition again, against the advice of his attorneys.
On Dec. 12, Bankman-Fried was arrested at one of his homes in the Bahamas on charges of fraud. The Justice Department unsealed eight charges in total, including two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each with a 20-year maximum prison sentence.
Bankman-Fried has maintained his innocence throughout the process. In the weeks before being taken into custody, he exhaustively tweeted about FTX’s enormous loss of value and his intentions to recoup value for customers. He also discussed mistakes he made while running the exchange and the importance of him cooperating with any investigations.
FTX had an alleged $8 billion shortfall as of early November.
Bankman-Fried’s wealth was believed to be between $26 billion and $32 billion at its peak. In November, the Wall Street Journal reported his net worth at about $15.6 billion, citing his inclusion on Bloomberg and Forbes’ 100 richest lists. According to CNBC, Bankman-Fried claims he has about $100,000 left.
