Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks To Seal Caroline Ellison’s Diary

Key Points:

• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried requested the court to seal the private diary of his ex-girlfriend and ex-Alameda Research CEO to avoid its public dissemination.
• Bankman-Fried is facing the possibility of going back to jail, with the US DOJ asking the judge to make him spend the remainder of his time in jail before his criminal trial begins.
• Inner City Press has opposed the move, and Bankman-Fried is currently set to go on trial next year on various charges, including securities and wire fraud allegations.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is currently facing the possibility of returning to jail as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York to make him spend the remainder of his time in jail before his criminal trial begins.

The DOJ has accused Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellison’s private diary to The New York Times and trying to tamper with witnesses multiple times.

Bankman-Fried has requested the court to seal the private diary of Caroline Ellison, his ex-girlfriend and ex-Alameda Research CEO. In response, Inner City Press has opposed the move, according to court filings. Judge Kaplan has declined to jail Bankman-Fried immediately, but has imposed a temporary gag order on parties and witnesses to avoid public dissemination or discussion of the case, which could interfere with a fair trial. Judge Kaplan has also set out a rapid schedule for both the prosecution and the defense to make formal written submissions on the matter.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyer has written to the court, “The presumption of access to these documents is greatly outweighed by the need to avoid their public dissemination at this time.” A publication that covers court proceedings in New York’s federal court, Inner City Press, has previously opposed Bankman-Fried’s bid to keep secret the identity of his bail co-signers and asked the court to schedule a hearing on the matter if required.

Inner City’s Matthew Russell Lee wrote to the court opposing the sealing of documents Bankman-Fried already provided to The New York Times, stating, “Again this defendant is being treated differently than other defendants in this District. This is an application for this court to grant or, if necessary, schedule a hearing on this challenge to the proposed withholding of this information.”

Bankman-Fried is scheduled to go on trial in October on various charges, including securities and wire fraud allegations. A second trial on additional charges, including bank fraud and bribery allegations, is scheduled for March of next year. He has pleaded not guilty.

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