The DOJ has filed a court docket criticism accusing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellison’s diary.
Bankman-Fried is alleged to have met a New York Instances reporter and handed out 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) says Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous CEO of FTX, leaked the contents of a personal diary belonging to Caroline Ellison to a New York Instances reporter.
DOJ says Bankman-Fried needed to “discredit” Ellison
Ellison is a former colleague of Bankman-Fried, and headed Alameda Analysis, a sister firm of the collapsed crypto trade.
She was additionally charged for her function within the implosion that befell the businesses. Nevertheless, Ellison agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and is seen as a key witness within the DOJ’s case in opposition to the previous FTX chief.
The federal government’s criticism in opposition to SBF pertains to an article within the NYT that characteristic data leaked from Ellison’s personal diary. In its submitting, the DOJ says that the previous FTX CEO is behind the leak and that his motion “sought to publicly discredit a authorities witness.”
“The defendant’s objective in sharing these supplies is obvious. Ellison has pleaded responsible to a cooperation settlement and is anticipated to testify at trial that she agreed with the defendant to defraud FTX’s prospects and buyers, and Alameda’s lenders. By selectively sharing sure personal paperwork with the New York Instances, the defendant is making an attempt to discredit a witness, solid Ellison in a poor mild, and advance his protection via the press and outdoors the constraints of the courtroom and guidelines of proof: that Ellison was a jilted lover who perpetrated these crimes alone,” reads a part of the DOJ’s criticism.
Moreover, the federal government sees this as an extrajudicial transfer by the defendant, and which may intervene not solely with the jury but in addition with witnesses lined as much as testify in opposition to him. It’s not the primary criticism the DOJ has filed in opposition to Bankman-Fried.
“The impact, if not the intent, of the defendant’s conduct shouldn’t be solely to harass Ellison, but in addition to discourage different potential trial witnesses from testifying,” the DOJ wrote.
In January, the prosecution stated he had tried to affect an FTX.US official.The federal government has subsequently requested the court docket to concern orders limiting extrajudicial statements that might intervene with the jury and witnesses.
SBF, as soon as lauded as a crypto prodigy and a darling across the Capitol, is underneath home arrest and faces a protracted jail sentence if convicted. His trial is about to start in October.
