DOJ accuses Bankman-Fried of leaking Ellison’s diary to “discredit her”

• The DOJ has filed a courtroom 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 alternate. 

She was additionally charged for her position 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 non-public 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 function in sharing these supplies is obvious.  Ellison has pleaded responsible to a cooperation settlement and is predicted to testify at trial that she agreed with the defendant to defraud FTX’s prospects and traders, and Alameda’s lenders.  By selectively sharing sure non-public paperwork with the New York Instances, the defendant is trying to discredit a witness, forged Ellison in a poor mild, and advance his protection by way of 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 additionally 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 will not be solely to harass Ellison, but additionally 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 due to this fact requested the courtroom to situation orders limiting extrajudicial statements that would intervene with the jury and witnesses.

SBF, as soon as lauded as a crypto prodigy and a darling across the Capitol, is beneath home arrest and faces a protracted jail sentence if convicted. His trial is ready to start in October.