Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, will be released on $250 million bail to home detention at his parents’ Palo Alto, Calif. home, a judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Gabriel Gorenstein ordered Bankman-Fried to submit to “strict” supervision at the home. He will also be required to surrender his passport and to receive mental-health and substance-abuse treatment.
Bankman-Fried was indicted on eight counts, including including securities fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried misled investors and mishandled billions in funds. He has been accused of misusing customer funds deposited with FTX to boost his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. Nicolas Roos, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Thursday that Bankman-Fried has committed crimes of “epic proportions.”
He appeared in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday hours after arriving in the U.S. from the Bahamas, where he was arrested on December 12 and held in custody in a local jail.
Bankman-Fried’s parents, both of whom are Stanford Law professors, have put up the equity in their home to secure the $250 million personal recognizance bond for their son.
Mark Cohen, an attorney for Bankman-Fried, said during the hearing Thursday that his client is not a flight risk.
“My client voluntarily consented to come to face these charges here in New York,” he told the judge, according to the New York Times. “He wants to address them.”