FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried sent to prison after judge revokes bail

New York [US], August 12 : FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail after a federal judge on Friday revoked his bail, The New York Times reported.
He has been accused of trying to influence witnesses who are poised to testify against him in the trial.
Sam Bankman-Fried remained under house arrest at his parent's home in California since his arrest in December on fraud charges stemming from FTX's implosion. However, Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan said that the arrangement will have to end. 
Lewis A Kaplan announced the decision after prosecutors said that Bankman-Fried had twice tried to interfere with witnesses in the case, including by giving documents to reporters.
Judge Kaplan said, "He has gone up to the line over and over again, and I am going to revoke bail."
After the order was read aloud, the two US marshals prepared to handcuff Bankman-Fried. His mother, Barbara Fried with his father, tried to approach him. However, a court officer cautioned her to stand back, according to The New York Times report.
Sam Bankman-Fried was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. 
One of Bankman-Fried's lawyers Mark Cohen in court said that he intended to appeal, The New York Times reported. However, Judge Kaplan said that he will not wait for the outcome of the effort before sending Bankman-Fried to prison. Now, Sam Bankman-Fried will have to prepare for his trial scheduled to begin on October 2.  
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers on Friday filed a notice of appeal, CNN reported. Prosecutors sought to revoke bail after what they termed as a series of violations by Bankman-Fried, including contacting potential witnesses against him, by use of a virtual private network to subvert monitoring and speaking with a reporter about former FTX executive Caroline Ellison.
Ellison, who is also Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, is one of several former business partners who plans to testify against him. Judge Kaplan on Friday sided with prosecutors’ claim that Bankman-Fried was "covering his tracks" when he allegedly leaked personal documents of Ellison to the New York Times by allowing a reporter to review them in person, according to CNN report.
Kaplan further said that the former girlfriend's intimate writings would only be leaked "to hurt, discredit and frighten the subject of the material," CNN reported. However, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys said that he has a right to defend his reputation in the press.
They further said that the complexity of his defense, which involves hundreds of thousands of documents, requires Bankman-Fried to have access to a computer and the internet, CNN reported. 
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to various conspiracy and fraud charges. Since his arrest, he has repeatedly violated standard legal advice when it comes to talking to the media. He has blogged, tweeted and appeared in live interviews to share his version of FTX’s downfall.