- The bid was slapped down by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan
- Comes after SBF complained he needed a laptop, special diet and drugs supply
- Judge Lewis Kaplan on Aug. 11 revoked Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail after finding that the former billionaire likely tampered with witnesses at least twice
Sam Bankman-Fried today lost an appeal asking to released from a Brooklyn jail after complaining he cannot properly prepare for his trial over the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
In rejecting Bankman-Fried’s request to be freed before his criminal trial, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan nonetheless said it would ask the next available three-judge panel to consider it.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Aug. 11 revoked Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail after finding that the former billionaire likely tampered with witnesses at least twice.
Bankman-Fried quickly appealed, arguing he would be unable to properly prepare for his scheduled Oct. 3 trial from behind bars.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had claimed he was being fed a ‘flesh diet’ and forced to make do with bread, water and peanut butter.
His legal team also complained that the crypto whizz kid, who appeared in Manhattan Federal court was unable to prepare without his correct medication.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried argued that he needed access to computers and medication to prepare properly.
He was previously granted access to Adderall, after his lawyers told the court that he would take 10mg tablets three to four times a day for his ADHD.
Bankham-Fried was also allowed ‘uninterrupted access’ access to his Emsam prescription for depression by Kaplan on August 14.
But just eight days later, his attorneys have complained he has not been given access to the drugs.
Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried stole billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his hedge fund.
They pushed for Bankman-Fried to be jailed after he shared the personal writings of Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former chief executive and his onetime romantic partner, with a New York Times reporter.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges, and said he shared Ellison’s writings to defend his reputation, not to intimidate her.
Ellison, who ran Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading hedge fund that was one of his businesses, is expected to testify against her former lover at trial.
The judge said the writings were kinds of things that a former romantic partner was unlikely to share with anyone ‘except to hurt, discredit, and frighten the subject of the material.’
Prosecutors say that the memo Ellison wrote will be used against Bankman-Fried in the trial, as well as testimony from members of his inner circle.
She described being racked with self-doubt over her decision making, with one message reading: ‘At the end of the day I can’t wait to go home and turn off my phone and have a drink and get away from it all.’
The state said it planned to use a memo she wrote after one conversation with him titled ‘Things Sam Is Freaking Out About.’
A 70-page court document included a trove of financial records, political donations and private Slack messages.
In court papers on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said the arrangement to give him several hours a day to review evidence on a laptop at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn has proven inadequate.
They said he lost more than four hours on Friday when he had to return to his cell for a prisoner count, and lost more time over the weekend.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan said the jail has authorized Bankman-Fried’s purchase of a second laptop.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have not sought to delay the trial. Kaplan said last week that he would consider such a request.
Kaplan previously noted Bankman-Fried ‘tried to go up to the line’ after using a VPN to watch a football game ‘over an account he wasn’t authorized.’
‘He subscribed from the Bahamas and used a VPN as if he were in the Bahamas when he was in Palo Alto and could have watched it on public TV,’ he said.
‘It shows the mindset. All things considered I am going to revoke bail.’
Bankman-Fried is facing a slew of criminal charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November.
He allegedly misused billions of dollars from investors on lavish gifts and political donations, before losing shareholders their fortunes
The accused fraudster was under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, since his December extradition from the Bahamas.
His $250 million bail package, which was the most expensive in US history, severely restricted his internet and phone usage.
Bankman-Fried is being held in the notorious MDC, which previously held high profile individuals including R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and Martin Shkreli.
The Metropolitan Detention Center houses more than 1,600 inmates and is situated near the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Other inmates have been linked to high-profile drug trafficking and terrorism cases, while others are comparatively anonymous New Yorkers awaiting trial.
In 2019, the prison made headlines after inmates suffered days without heat or power during a cold snap.
