Media power group files request to reveal SBF’s secret bail signatories

A collection of news media giants requested that the court handling fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal case reveal who, other than his parents, signed his $250 million bail bond.

The media outlets on the petition include Associated Press, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, CNBC, Reuters, Insider, Wall Street Journal’s publisher Dow Jones, and the Washington Post’s publisher.

Lawyers from litigation law firm Davis Wright Tremaine argued it is in the public interest to reveal the signatories since Bankman-Fried “stands accused of perpetrating one of the largest financial frauds in history.” They cited common law and the first amendment to public right of the information.

The counsel for the news group said it is willing to be heard at a hearing to make their case.

Representatives for Sam Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SBF’s safety concerns

Bankman-Fried had asked for two unknown co-signers on his bail to remain anonymous for concerns over their safety. His parents, who had signed the quarter-billion bond, were targeted for harassment and media scrutiny according to the court filing of the anonymity request.

There would be a “serious cause for concern that the two additional sureties would face similar intrusions on their privacy as well as threats and harassment if their names appear unredacted on their bonds or their identities are otherwise publicly disclosed,” lawyers Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell of law firm Cohen & Gresser LLP wrote on Jan. 3.

Bankman-Fried is awaiting trial scheduled for October for criminal charges, following the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX in November.

He was released from detainment in December thanks to the $250 million bond, which was secured with his parents’ signature and equity in their family home, along with another two anonymous co-signers.

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.

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