FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried asked a judge to keep confidential the identities of two people who will help secure his bail to protect them from public scrutiny and potential harassment.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried filed a letter seeking redactions of the names of the two people who intend to sign on as sureties to his $250 million bail package, saying there is no need for public disclosure. Their request was granted Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in New York, after Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges. A trial date was set for Oct. 2.
Courts frequently require sureties to sign onto significant bail packages to ensure a defendant’s appearances in court. Defense lawyers sometimes seek to mask the identities of the sureties to protect them from public scrutiny. Kaplan said he’d consider any requests seeking disclosure of the names, as long as they were filed with the court by Jan. 12.
