SBF Pleads Not Guilty

GB Market Commentary 04/01/2023

by Marcus Sotiriou

Yesterday, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) appeared before a judge in the U.S. District Court in New York City with his lawyers, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell.

SBF has pleaded not guilty to the eight charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Criminal charges against SBF include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to misuse customer funds, and others.

This decision could turn into a lengthy legal battle. His trial date has been set for October 2, 2023, during which prosecutors will present evidence to support their allegations of law violations. If he is convicted of all charges, and he could face up to 115 years in jail.

The judge has also granted a request to seal the names of the individuals who co-signed SBF’s $250 million bail bond.

The law firm representing SBF said, “Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents have become the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats and there is a 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.”

Martin Shkreli, former head fund manager who was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of securities fraud, correctly predicted that SBF would plead not guilty initially but that eventually, he would plead guilty, and that negotiations for that guilty plea would take a while.