SBF’s Legal Team Requests Concealment of Identity for $250M Bail Co-Signers

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team has requested that the names and personal information of the two co-signers of his $250 million bail be redacted from the bonds once they are signed, court filings from 3 January revealed.

According to a letter sent to Judge Lewis Kaplan for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, the lawyers argued that the request was made in order to ensure the two individual’s privacy and safety. To make its point, the legal team pointed to SBF’s parents, Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, who became the target of media scrutiny, harassment, and threats after the crimes of their son were revealed. The request reads:

“Among other things, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents have received a steady stream of threatening correspondence, including communications expressing a desire that they suffer physical harm. Consequently, there is serious cause for concern that the two additional sureties would face similar intrusions on their privacy as well as threats and harassment if their names appear unredacted on their bonds or their identities are otherwise publicly disclosed.”

The lawyers further argued that the request was justified as all information “relevant” to the court will be made public, and that they were only looking to block the disclosure of identities for the security of the sureties.

The former CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was released under bail in December on the conditions of a $250 million bond — secured by his parents and the two unnamed individuals — home detention, location monitoring, and the surrender of his passport. SBF was arrested in the Bahamas on 12 December, and later extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and violations of campaign finance laws.