FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried ordered to jail after being accused of witness-tampering
The IndependentThe latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was heading to jail on Friday after a federal judge revoked his bail for attempting to tamper with witnesses in his upcoming fraud trial. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Mr Bankman-Fried be detained after finding probable cause that he had harassed his former girlfriend and FTX executive Carline Ellison when he shared her private journals with the New York Times. Bankman-Fried is accused of flouting the terms of his bail They said that leaking Ms Ellison’s diaries to the New York Times was an attempt to discredit Ms Ellison, and a “means of indirect witness intimidation through the press.” Lawyers for the New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had filed letters objecting to the detention order. His defence attorneys claimed the prosecutor’s arguments were based on “innuendo, speculation, and scant facts.” The Justice Department argued that Mr Bankman-Fried should be held in a jail in New York’s Putnam County Correctional Facility where he will have limited access to the internet to prepare his trial defence.