- The U.S. Department of Justice believes SBF’s conduct was improper.
- The release of Ellison’s diary to the NYT newspaper shows that the convict sought to exert corrupt influence over witnesses.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it may take FTX founder Sam Benkman-Fried (SBF) into pretrial detention. The DOJ said in a statement that the latter’s defense did not deny that he shared ex-CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison’s diary with the New York Times.
Remember, in late July, the U.S. Department of Justice accused SBF of sharing Ellison’s personal notes with reporters.
“The record shows that the defendant did not merely voluntarily exercise the right to communicate with the press, which is guaranteed by the Constitution. He also took covert steps to improperly discredit a trial witness and undermine the reputation of a juror,” according to the United States Department of Justice.
In its first filing last Friday, DOJ noted that SBF’s conduct, including his use of a VPN to watch the Super Bowl (according to the defense), as well as his contact with FTX.US General Counsel Ryan Miller, was found to be improper. It shows that he “repeatedly sought to exert corrupt influence over witnesses,” the Justice Department said.
Benkman-Fried’s attorneys responded to the allegations. They said the government was “misreporting” the FTX founder’s actions by giving him a negative characterization.
Reminder, on June 14, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District filed a statement with the court agreeing to drop five of the 13 counts in the indictment against SBF.