Last Updated on January 4, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to the eight criminal counts against him, which accuse him of fraud and money laundering. SBF, or Bankman-Fried, appeared in a New York City courtroom nearly two months after his cryptocurrency exchange FTX declared bankruptcy.

Now, billions of dollars have gone missing from investors and consumers, and the Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have all accused his company of being a scam from the start.

Bankman-Fried was detained in the Bahamas last month before being extradited to the United States to face these allegations, and he is presently living with his parents while out on bond of $250 million. As SBF prepared to return to the United States, authorities discovered that two of his close friends and associates, Caroline Ellison and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, who worked for his empire, had previously pled guilty and were working with prosecutors.

The trial is expected to begin on October 2nd, according to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, “after US prosecutors said they anticipate to provide all evidence for the case in the next four weeks.” According to Reuters, the judge also imposed a new bail term that prohibits Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX or Alameda assets.

The judge also granted a motion by Bankman-attorneys, Fried’s who argued that the identity of two persons — other than his parents — who helped obtain his bail should be kept hidden, citing threats and harassment directed at his parents.

Ellison was the CEO of Alameda Research, and Wang co-founded and served as CTO of FTX. Prosecutors claim that the officials in charge of Bankman-Fried firm’s utilized FTX client cash for Alameda’s trading, as well as loans to themselves and wasteful expenditures on houses, private jet trips, and political contributions.