- The lawyer for Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto mogul and his parents said they were subjected to violence and threats.
- That includes a recent “security incident” at his parents’ home in the Bay Area, the lawyer said.
- Three unknown men entered the metal fence outside their house, he said.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorney says the former crypto mogul recently experienced a “security incident” at his parents’ home in the Bay Area.
Christian Everdell of the New York law firm Cohen & Gresser detailed the incident in a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday, saying Bankman-Fried and her parents were targeted in “genuine attempts to harm them.”
Because of this, Everdell asked Kaplan to deny requests from various news organizations to unseal two currently unnamed parties who contributed to the release of Bankman-Fried is $250 million.
“Recently, the Bankman-Frieds had a security incident at their home when a black car drove into the metal fence erected outside their home,” the letter said. Everdell. “Three men got out of the car. When the officer on duty faced them, these men said something like this: ‘You can’t keep us out.’ The men got back into the car and sped off before the officer could see the license plate.”
The car and its occupants have not been identified, Everdell said.
“This incident highlights the threat to the privacy and security of the Bankman-Frieds,” he said.
Bankman-Fried, who faces multiple criminal charges related to the FTX collapse, was bail out on December 22, shortly after arriving in the United States after being extradited from the Bahamas.
While she awaits trial, Bankman-Fried is required to live at her parents’ home, Stanford Law Professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried. Zillow values the five-bedroom home at $4 million, while Redfin puts it at $3.1 million.
FTX customers are disappointed after it was revealed the crypto market used customer funds to prop up struggling company Alameda Research, although it was previously emphasized that the two are separate businesses. Individual investors say they have lost thousand dollars.
Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried told Teddy Schleifer, a writer from Puckthat an alert citizen was stopped by security guards standing outside his parent’s house. He did not provide further details.
In a January 3 filing, attorney Mark Cohen said Bankman-Fried’s parents “have been the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats.” He said they received “a constant stream of threatening correspondence, including communications expressing a desire for them to suffer physical harm.”
Everdell and Cohen said revealing the names of the other two parties who contributed to his bond could interfere with their privacy and cause harm.
“Given the popularity of this case and the amount of media coverage it is receiving, it is reasonable to assume that non-parents will also face privacy and security concerns if their information is disclosed,” Everdell wrote in Thursday’s newsletter.