Sassoon suggested that the government has a deep well of evidence against Bankman-Fried, saying prosecutors plan to turn over hundreds of thousands of documents in coming weeks so the defense can prepare for trial. The government has already won guilty pleas from two former top associates of Bankman-Fried’s, who are cooperating with prosecutors and may testify at trial.
Bankman-Fried, now clean-shaven, wore a blue suit, white shirt and dotted blue tie and carried a backpack into the courthouse – a far cry from the shorts and t-shirts that were his preferred attire while he ran FTX from the Bahamas.He did not speak to the judge during the hearing, but conferred privately with his lawyers.
Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, reacts on the day of a hearing at Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S., January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozBankman-Fried was extradited last month from the Bahamas, where he lived and where the exchange was based.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried have said his parents, who co-signed the bond, have received physical threats since FTX’s collapse, and that other co-signers might face similar harassment unless their names were kept secret.