Lawyers for Bankman-Fried say the car crashed into a barricade near the house

A three-passenger car recently drove into a barricade near a California home owned by Sam Bankman-Freed’s parents in an apparent attempt to gain access to property where the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX is under house arrest.

Lawyers for Bankman-Fried made the disclosure in a letter Thursday to US District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is presiding over the criminal case against Bankman-Fried. He is facing charges of defrauding investors and robbing customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform, using some of the funds to make large campaign donations to US politicians.

Last month, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty and was released on $250 million bail on the condition that he await trial at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. Lawyers were responding to a request from several media outlets to release the names of two people, in addition to Bankman-Fried’s parents, who agreed to sign a travel ban.

Attorneys Mark Cohen and Chris Everdell argue in part that the court should not release names as it could endanger people’s safety. As evidence, they cited the case when a black car crashed into a metal barricade erected near the Bankman-Freed residence. According to the lawyers, the three men got out of the car and said to the security guard “something like, ‘You can’t hold us.’

The three men got into the car and drove away. Lawyers say neither the man nor the vehicle has been identified.

“Given the notoriety of this case and the extreme media attention, it is reasonable to assume that (the two bond signers) will also face significant privacy and security issues if their identities are revealed,” the lawyers wrote.

Eight media outlets, including the Associated Press, say the names must be released because of the severity of Bankman-Freed’s alleged crimes and because there is legal precedent for the release of the names of bail bondsmen.

“However, the public is interested in knowing who provided financial support to Mr. Bankman-Fried after this alleged massive fraud and political scandal, especially given Mr. Bankman-Fried’s close relationship with financial industry leaders, investors. , famous Silicon Valley billionaires and elected representatives,” the media wrote in a January 12 letter to Judge Kaplan.