Nearly two weeks after being released by a Manhattan judge on $250 million bail and ordered to stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California, disgraced cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried, returned to New York and pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. on charges of engaging in widespread fraud and other crimes.
Mr Bankman-Fried, 30, appeared in Federal District Court where he is on trial on charges that his fraud led to the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded, and billions of dollars in customer losses.
Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested on Dec. 12 at his luxury apartment in the Bahamas, where FTX was located until it filed for bankruptcy in November. After Mr. Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States the following week, he appeared in court on December 22, where he was granted bail under very restrictive conditions.
An eight-count charge charges him with a multi-year scheme that defrauded clients and lenders, and that he conspired to violate federal campaign finance laws. Prosecutors have accused him of embezzling billions in client funds for other uses, such as buying real estate in the Bahamas, trading cryptocurrencies, investing in other crypto companies and making tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations.
This is an evolving news item and will be updated.
Lisa Cruz reporting contributed.
