- The DOJ filed a lawsuit accusing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellison’s diary.
- Bankman-Fried reportedly met with a New York Instances reporter and handed on the data.
- The federal government sees this as an try by SBF to discredit Ellison who’s a key witness.
The US Division of Justice (DOJ) claims that Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous CEO of FTX, leaked the contents of a diary belonging to Caroline Ellison to a New York Instances journalist.
DOJ says Bankman-Fried needed to ‘discredit’ Ellison
Ellison is a former colleague of Bankman-Fried and ran Alameda Analysis, a sister firm to the collapsed crypto change.
She has additionally been indicted for her function within the enterprise implosion. Nonetheless, Ellison has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and is taken into account a key witness within the DOJ case towards the previous FTX chief.
The federal government’s criticism towards SBF pertains to an NYT article that incorporates data leaked from Ellison’s diary. In its submitting, the DOJ claims that the previous CEO of FTX is behind the leak and that his motion “sought to publicly discredit a authorities witness.”
“The defendant’s objective in sharing these paperwork is evident. Ellison pleaded responsible to a cooperation settlement and is anticipated to testify at trial that she agreed with the defendant to defraud FTX clients and buyers, in addition to Alameda lenders. By selectively sharing sure non-public paperwork with The New York Instances, the defendant is trying to discredit a witness, solid Ellison in a nasty gentle, and advance his protection by way of the press and outdoors the constraints of the courtroom and the principles of proof: that Ellison was a rejected lover who perpetrated these crimes alonereads a part of the DOJ criticism.
Furthermore, the federal government sees this as an extrajudicial determination by the defendant, and one that might intrude not solely with the jury but in addition with the witnesses lined as much as testify towards him. This isn’t the primary criticism filed by the DOJ towards Bankman-Fried.
“The impact, if not the intent, of the defendant’s conduct isn’t solely to harass Ellison, but in addition to discourage different potential trial witnesses from testifying.“, wrote the DOJ.
In January, the prosecution stated he had tried to affect an FTX.US official. The federal government due to this fact requested the court docket to difficulty orders limiting out-of-court statements that might intrude with the jury and witnesses.
SBF, as soon as hailed as a crypto prodigy and Capitol darling, is underneath home arrest and faces a prolonged jail sentence if convicted. His trial is because of start in October.
