Ex-FTX CEO Bankman-Fried arrives at court to enter plea
STORY: Bankman-Fried is accused of looting billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits to support his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and make millions of dollars in political contributions, in what prosecutors have called a fraud of epic proportions.
He is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan. His lawyers earlier on Tuesday told Kaplan that Bankman-Fried's parents, who co-signed his $250 million bond in December, have been harassed and threatened.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that Bankman-Fried would plead not guilty. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not reply to a request for comment. It is not unusual for criminal defendants to initially plead not guilty. Defendants are free to change their plea at a later date.
Bankman-Fried was extradited last month from the Bahamas, where he lived and where the exchange was based.
