Stanford scientists have co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail deal

New York (CNN) A federal judge has released the names of two people who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail agreement that allowed him to be released on house arrest pending trial on federal fraud and conspiracy charges.

In documents made public Wednesday afternoon, the court revealed that Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford law school, and Andreas Paepcke, a computer scientist at Stanford, each filed bail.

Kramer and Paepcke signed bonds worth $500,000 and $200,000 respectively. Bankman-Fried’s parents, both Stanford law professors, are also guarantors and used their home in Palo Alto, California, to secure the bond.

In a statement to CNN, Kramer described Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried as good friends since the mid-1990s.

“As my family has fought a harrowing battle with cancer over the past two years, they have been the staunchest of friends… In turn, we have tried to support them as they face their own crisis,” Kramer said.

He added that he “had no business dealings or interest in this matter except to assist our loyal and steadfast friends.”

Paepcke did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Prosecutors have described the Bankman-Fried bail deal as one of the largest provisional bonds ever. But neither Bankman-Fried nor the sureties will have to pay any amount unless he fails to show up for court.

Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the bonds to be placed in public court after an appeals court failed to rule in time over an objection by Bankman-Fried’s attorneys, who sought to keep the names redacted, citing concerns about their privacy and safety.

The release of the bailiffs’ names came a day before Bankman-Fried was due to appear in New York federal court for a hearing.

Loopholes in the bail conditions

Federal prosecutors asked the judge on Wednesday to significantly restrict Bankman-Fried’s use of cellphones, computers and the Internet after alleging he found “loopholes” in his bail conditions.

That request came days after prosecutors said Bankman-Fried contacted a former FTX employee who is a potential government witness.

“There is now a file in court of a defendant who appears motivated to evade surveillance and find loopholes in existing bail conditions,” prosecutors said in a letter to the judge.

Prosecutors suggested restricting Bankman-Fried’s use of electronic devices in preparation for trial and allowing only a Gmail account, voice calls and text messages. He could use Zoom to communicate with these lawyers, they said.

They also asked the judge to limit Bankman-Fried to one computer and one mobile phone, on which a monitoring system would be installed. He should also make his devices available for search if there is any suspicion that he has deviated from bail conditions, they suggested.

Judge Lewis Kaplan previously raised concerns about Bankman-Fried’s use of an application or device that could be encrypted or have auto-deletion features.

Prosecutors noted that Bankman-Fried chose to use a VPN, or virtual private network, to watch the Super Bowl even though it was readily available to watch in the US. A VPN is commonly used in businesses, but it also allows a user to hide the computer they are using to access the internet.

Using a VPN, they said, could also make it more difficult for them to track wealth transfers.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have told the judge that he did not transfer any assets from FTX or Alameda accounts.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of his crypto empire, including trading platform FTX and trading house Alameda Research.


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