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By Jack Queen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried clinched a bail deal on Thursday that would see him released on a $250 million bond secured against his parents’ property with restrictions on his movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is an explainer on how his deal stacks up and how bail works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was Bankman-Fried expected to get bail?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Defendants are presumed to be eligible for bail unless prosecutors can prove that no set of conditions could ensure that they would return to court. As Bankman-Fried was accused of a white collar, or financial, crime, it would have been surprising if he had not received bail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did Bankman-Fried secure bail?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Defendants secure bail by putting up enough of their own assets to cover a portion of their bond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These so-called bond packages are mixes of assets that can include cash, real estate or anything else of value. They are often co-signed by family members who would be on the hook if a defendant flees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White collar defendants often have the means to put up bond packages, but defendants with limited assets will often use a bail bondsman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bankman-Fried’s bail was secured by his parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who offered up their home in Palo Alto, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does the bail amount mean Bankman-Fried or his family has $250 million?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No. In Bankman-Fried’s case, the $250 million bond is secured by his parents’ home. Since Bankman-Fried’s parents signed the bond agreement, they would be on the hook for $250 million if their son flees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They can take everything else,” said Michael Bachner, a New York criminal defense attorney. “They can go ahead and take the bank accounts, the IRA accounts, stock accounts.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The $250 million bond does not reflect the family’s assets, which could not be determined. Bankman-Fried said in late November that he now had “close to nothing” left and is down to one working credit card with “maybe $100,000 in that bank account.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this the largest bail in white collar history?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s certainly big. New York federal prosecutors have described Bankman-Fried’s alleged crimes and the collapse of his $32 billion crypto empire as one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history. His bond package far exceeds some of the most notorious cases in that history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It’s the largest bond I’ve ever heard of in my history of doing bonds,” said Ira Judelson, a prominent New York bail bondsman who specializes in high-profile defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood testing startup Theranos who was convicted of defrauding investors in January, was released after her 2018 arrest on a $500,000 bond after surrendering her passport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The late financier Bernard Madoff, whose $65 billion Ponzi scheme was the largest in history, was released in 2008 on a $10 million bond after surrendering his passport and consenting to strict monitoring conditions and curfews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will Bankman-Fried be traveling abroad?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Defendants typically have to surrender their passports and wear monitoring devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prosecutor Nicolas Roos told U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein that the bail package would require Bankman-Fried to surrender his passport and remain in home confinement at his parents’ Palo Alto home. He would also be required to undergo regular mental health treatment and evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How long could Bankman-Fried be out on bail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A while. A trial in New York is likely more than a year away as prosecutors build their case and both sides spar over evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Megan Davies and Daniel Wallis)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jack Queen (Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried clinched a bail deal on Thursday that would see him released on a $250 million bond secured against his parents’ property with restrictions on his movement….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[2265,52,2672],"class_list":["post-7855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-crypto","tag-fraud","tag-sam-bankman-fried"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n