The former CEO of one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Sam Bankman-Fried, arrived in custody for his court appearance on December 22, 2022. The court appearance was in Manhattan, New York, where he arrived after spending days in one of the most notorious prisons in the world, Fox Hill, in the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried is facing charges related to his fraud scheme, where he defrauded roughly one million people out of an estimated $32 billion. The 30-year old former founder was given a bail determination of $250 million by U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.
On Thursday, Judge Gorenstein stated that Sam Bankman-Fried has “sufficient notoriety”, and likely is unable to flee the state or country if he wanted to. The judge also took into consideration Bankman-Fried’s lack of criminal record, and also his consent to the extradition from the Bahaman prison to the United States. With the evidence considered “very strong,” Bankman-Fried surrendered and is not considered a “flight risk”. Judge Gorenstein did ensure that the defendant would be wearing court ordered electronic monitoring equipment on Thursday, and he is required to stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California while he is out on bail.
