Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to new charges

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried made his first appearance after spending 10 days in jail

article-image

Stanslavs/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven fraud and conspiracy charges in a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. 

The new charges, handed down on Aug. 14, came after prosecutors alleged Bankman-Fried used more than $100 million in stolen customer funds to line the pockets of electoral candidates and politicians. 

His bail was revoked after the US Department of Justice alleged that Bankman-Fried “repeatedly” tried to “corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming,” per the hearing. 

The disgraced FTX founder has been permitted to meet with his attorneys on weekdays from 8:30 am to 3 pm ET, per court filings. 

Federal Election Commission data shows that Bankman-Fried personally gave more than $40 million in political donations in 2022. Ryan Salame, Bankman-Fried’s former co-CEO, and Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, were also big donors. Salame gave nearly $23 million almost exclusively to Republicans and related PACs, while Singh gave $8 million during the 2022 midterm election cycle. 

Read more: US prosecutors drop campaign finance charges against SBF

The court appearance was Bankman-Fried’s first since his bail was revoked on Aug. 11. He has since been held in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where, his legal team said Tuesday, he has been denied a vegan diet. 

Bankman-Fried’s trial is set for Oct. 3.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

With $30 million in funding and EverQuest’s creator at the helm, it’s possible, but not guaranteed

article-image

As Satoshi-era wallets saw over $8 billion worth of BTC on the move, Congress is gearing up for “Crypto Week”

article-image

Bitcoin’s runaway success was partly driven by Slashdot

article-image

Blockworks Research data shows that VC spending is back on the rise after a slow May

article-image

After rejecting a bid from the AI cloud-computing startup last year, Core Scientific agreed to be acquired in a deal expected to close by Q4 2025

article-image

Sponsored

Plume’s collaboration with TRON will unlock cross-chain RWA yield for one of the world’s largest blockchain ecosystems