A federal judge ruled that the names of the co-signers of Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond must be made public after Bankman-Fried failed to file with the appeals court.
District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, originally ruled in favor of news organizations, including CoinDesk, arguing that the names of the Bankman-Fried signatories were of public interest, but reversed the ruling pending an appeal . While Bankman-Fried’s lawyers filed a notice that they would appeal, they have not filed the actual appeal, the judge said in a new ruling Wednesday.
The signers turned out to be Andreas Paepcke and Larry Kramer of Stanford University, who contributed $200,000 and $500,000 respectively. Bankman-Fried’s parents are both Stanford instructors. Paepcke is a senior researcher, while Kramer is a former dean of Stanford Law School.
Kramer told CoinDesk that it was his friendship with Bankman-Fried’s parents, Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, that led him to post bail for the now-disgraced former FTX CEO.
“Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s. For the past two years, as my family endured a harrowing battle with cancer, they have been the closest of friends – bringing food, providing for moral support, and often step in to help at any time. In turn, we have tried to support them as they face their own crisis,” Kramer said in a statement to CoinDesk.
“My actions are in a personal capacity and I have no business dealings or interest in this matter except to help our loyal and steadfast friends. I also have no comment or position regarding the substance of the legal matter itself, which is what the process will be for,” Kramer added.”
Paepcke did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in December but released on $250 million bail. His parents signed the bond, putting their home in Stanford as collateral. The names of the other two signatories were initially redacted.
UPDATE (February 15, 2023, 18:47 UTC): Adds additional details.
UPDATE (February 15, 2023, 19:41 UTC): Adds comment from Larry Kramer.
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