Court Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried’s Application for Release

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX and a convicted fraudster, will remain in jail while his legal team appeals his conviction.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Bankman-Fried’s request for release, citing his previous attempts to tamper with witnesses while on pretrial release as a major factor.

The court also found his arguments unpersuasive. Bankman-Fried was accused by government prosecutors of leaking diaries belonging to Caroline Ellison to The New York Times in July, leading to his bail being revoked by a New York District Court.

Bankman-Fried argued that his actions were protected under the First Amendment, but the appellate court disagreed, stating that witness tampering is not constitutionally protected.