Sam Bankman-Fried spent his Tuesday night in the company of one of the influential and glamorous figures in crypto, journalist Tiffany Fong.
Since December 23, Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest at his parents’ $4 million home in Palo Alto, California, after he was freed in a Manhattan court on a $250 million bond. The former CEO, 30, is facing securities and wire fraud charges related to his collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
On Wednesday, Fong, 26, tweeted: ‘I met with Sam Bankman-Fried last night. I haven’t written anything thoughtful out about our conversation – I’m just sharing because I’m getting some questions about this. I’m still in holiday mode & am visiting family in SF atm, so please be patient.’
In an interview with the New York Post about the meeting between the pair, Fong said that Bankman-Fried is ‘surprisingly optimistic’ despite the gravity of the charges he’s facing.
On Tuesday night, independent crypto journalist Tiffany Fong said that she visited Sam Bankman-Fried at his parents’ home in Palo Alto
The day after their meeting, it was reported that Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea next week in response to criminal charges, which allege he defrauded investors and looted billions of dollars in customer funds at his failed cryptocurrency exchange.
Speaking to the Post, Fong said that Bankman-Fried ‘seemed similar to how he always is’ and that he ‘remains surprisingly optimistic, although aware of the [gravity of his situation.’
If convicted on all charges, Bankman-Fried is facing 115 years in prison. Fong said: ‘He doesn’t seem to want to talk too much about worst case scenarios.’
Following his December 12 arrest in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was held in the notorious Fox Hill Prison, where inmates are reportedly crammed in cells with multiple other inmates, without access to running water or other means of basic hygiene.
Sam Bankman-Fried being escorted by Ghislaine Maxwell’s former bodyguard Jimmy Harkins from court last week in New York after he was released on a $250million bond
Fong told the Post that Bankman-Fried didn’t say too much about his time in Fox Hill.
It was earlier reported that Bankman-Fried was held in the sickbay at the prison – dubbed ‘Fox Hell’ by fearful locals – where he reportedly received preferential treatment over other inmates.
The embattled crypto crook reportedly had access to his own toilet, running water, a TV, local newspapers, crossword puzzles and a host of other perks – including food that adheres to his vegan lifestyle.
Fong continued: ‘He definitely expressed regret and remorse a number of times. He’s trying to gather his take on events…. He sounded like he was trying to gather his thoughts about what happened.’
On December 18, Fong posted his picture at the White House’s Christmas party, she wrote in the caption: ‘I let POTUS smell my hair’
Fong said of her meeting with Bankman-Fried: ‘He definitely expressed regret and remorse a number of times. He’s trying to gather his take on events…. He sounded like he was trying to gather his thoughts about what happened’
In November, Bankman-Fried made some of the most explosive revelations surrounding FTX to Fong.
When she asked how the company’s ended up being used by Alameda Research, he said: ‘It was a messy combination of things – a lot of things I should have caught and a lot of things I should have been way more cautious about.’
Bankman-Fried also told Fong that he didn’t know how to code and that he couldn’t have built a secret way to move money between his company and Alameda Research even if he wanted to.
Finally, the disgraced crypto trader told Fong that he donated to Republican politicians as well as Democrats.
He said: ‘All my Republican donations were dark but the reason was not for regulatory reasons, it was that reporters freak the f*** out when you donate to Republicans and I didn’t want to deal with that.’
Bankman-Fried will be arraigned three days into the new year at 2pm on January 3 before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court.
Kaplan was given the case on Tuesday, after the original judge recused herself due to her husband’s law firm having advised FTX prior to its shocking collapse.
Bankman-Fried stands accused of engaging in a years-long ‘fraud of epic proportions,’ that he executed primarily by using customer deposits to support his Alameda Research trading firm, as well as to buy real estate and make record-setting political contributions.
Judge Kaplan is best known to have been the judge who is overseeing two civil lawsuits brought against former President Donald Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll claiming she was defamed when Trump denied raping her in Bergdorf Goodman nearly 30 years ago.
Kaplan, who has a reputation for being a no-nonsense jurist, also oversaw the case brought by Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre, who alleged the royal sexually abused her when she was 17 at the London residence of Ghislaine Maxwell.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried has brought on board top private investigator Jimmy Harkins, who formerly worked for Ghislaine Maxwell, among other high-profile individuals.
Harkins was seen escorting Bankman-Fried from court last week. The failed crypto-boss has also hired Christian Everdell, one of Maxwell’s attorneys.
Prior to his December 12 arrest in the Bahamas, SBF acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but maintained that he does not believe he is criminally liable.
Two of his chief associates, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang, have entered guilty pleas over their roles in FTX’s collapse and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
