quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
It depends on whether the Judge feels he is a flight risk.

It’s pretty obvious, given both the massive fraud that was engaged in and the prospects of spending the rest of his life behind bars, he is most certainly a flight risk.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Will have to see. His attorneys have certainly discussed this issue with SBF. I am certain SBF knows of the conditions at MDC and that avocado toast is not on the menu.
Should know this morning later

One of the factors in determining flight risk is financial means to flee/hide, so considering the large amount of money that's missing and to which he presumably may still have access, that's going to weigh against him in the equation. As will the fact that he has a history of living overseas.

But considering his case doesn't involve serious violence, and to my knowledge he has no past criminal history or history of fleeing from a court, I don't see him being able to be held without bail. The default position under the Bail Reform Act of 1984 is for a Defendant to have the opportunity to be released on a reasonable bail, so being held without bail requires a very high bar to be met, especially in federal court.

However, a substantial bail is likely, commensurate to his and his family's financial resources, along with other conditions to discourage flight like surrendering his passport and wearing an ankle monitor.

quote:

However, a substantial bail is likely, along with other conditions to discourage flight, like surrendering his passport and wearing an ankle monitor.

I suspect he has multiple passports, all of which need to be collected.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
...and wearing an ankle monitor.

Instead of an ankle monitor can it be a command detonated non-removable explosive vest?

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
I suspect he has multiple passports, all of which need to be collected.

Whereas I suspect that you may have watched too many movies.

This isn't some criminal mastermind with international organized crime ties. And he's not a Jason Bourne-style superspy, with safe deposit boxes stashed around the world containing multiple passports under carefully crafted false identities. He's a foolish greedy kid who ran a financial scheme with no oversight and took advantage of its investors because he thought he was smarter than everyone else and wouldn't get caught.

Is it possible for him to obtain a credible fake passport? Sure. It's possible.

Is it likely? Nah, not really.

It's certainly possible to have more than one passport, especially if you're very wealthy. Was it Portugal that gives citizenship if you invest a certain amount of money into property there? Anyway, I can certainly believe that he has multiple passports.

Of course I'm talking about legit passports.

Ok, you're talking about people holding multiple citizenships, not just having multiple passports with fake identities.

The Swiss will extend citizenship to the Uber wealthy who bring hundreds of millions of Swiss francs.

You can also be dual citizenship in Ireland and Sweden, IIRC.

If he had dual citizenry with Israel, before the illegal acts occurred, he could fly there and not be extradited. SBF is Jewish, but I have not read anything about him have dual citizenship.

Most likely he is a pariah, and no one wants him even if he came with his $1 billion.

Despite the possibility of having multiple passports, I somewhat doubt it. To Rogue's point, it doesn't seem like he would've thought that much ahead.

Get's $250 million bail...

CNBC

I am not gonna say I told you so! I am sure he will get the deluxe ankle bracelet etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Despite the possibility of having multiple passports, I somewhat doubt it. To Rogue's point, it doesn't seem like he would've thought that much ahead.

Yeah, everything was hunky-dory until just a few weeks ago, so he had no reason to try to plan eleventeen steps ahead for his inevitable life as an international fugitive. And now it's too late. Not only is he too high profile, but even in those nations that do allow you to "buy citizenship" by purchasing property and eventually establishing residency, it's a lengthy process. It's not just a matter of "Paypal us the $5 mil and your Wakandan passport will be in the mail tomorrow, Mr. Smith."

$250M Bond, an ankle bracelet, limited to his parents home, mental counseling etc. etc. is a good bond for the government. That's a very high pre-trial bond. At least it wasn't $250k bond which would have be an insult to the justice system. His parents probably had to contribute, perhaps a property bond and some cash to his bond as well. Frankly, how did he come up with $250M for bail? I don't see SBF going to 'Sammys Bail Bonds' and paying $25M for a bond but, I could be wrong, again.

Liz Holmes I think is on a $500k bond secured by her property but $500k is not like coming up with a $250m Bond.

quote:

Originally posted by 2PAK:
His parents probably had to contribute, perhaps a property bond and some cash to his bond as well. Frankly, how did he come up with $250M for bail?

The article in mjlennon's post stated that the parents put up their home to satisfy part of the bond.

His parents probably secured all of it, using a combination of property, cash, and some other equity (like stocks and retirement plans). $250M total net worth isn't much of a stretch for a family with their resumes.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
It's certainly possible to have more than one passport, especially if you're very wealthy. Was it Portugal that gives citizenship if you invest a certain amount of money into property there? Anyway, I can certainly believe that he has multiple passports.

Of course I'm talking about legit passports.

There are many countries that offer citizen by investment (CBI) programs. Cheapest is probably at least a little north of $100k, which sounds awfully steep to a normal person working for a living. To someone stealing billions, buying a handful of citizenships would likely be chump change. Heck, it’s some other sucker’s money anyway. It is something he could easily have done.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was not a step he thought to take.

I'd like to read the document that gets them to that $250M number but doubt it will be publicly available. $250M is still a big number regardless of retirement accounts, investments, property ownership.

BTW those ankle bracelets are no joke. A local attorney had one, took his dog for a walk just outside the perimeter. He did it twice and was back in jail. Feds do not play around. Certainly being with his parents is more pleasant than jail, but I can imagine the lecturing etc. going on.

he is out on a "personal recognizance bond"

"A recognizance bond is a written commitment from the accused to appear in court when ordered. In return, Bankman-Fried’s camp will not be required to meet the full collateral requirements on the bail."

The “$250 million personal recognizance bond signed by Mr. Bankman-Fried and co-signed by his parents ... will be secured by the parents’ equity interest in their home” in Palo Alto, California

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...ge-rules/ar-AA15zBeL

doesn't seem like much collateral for someone who had access to literally billions of dollars


I am surprised the conditions are so relatively light for what he did

https://nypost.com/2022/12/22/...on-record-250m-bond/

"The deal was prearranged, sources told The Post, and was the pretext for the fallen mogul’s decision to waive an extradition hearing in the Bahamas and agreed to face the music in the US. "

But the prosecutor didn't release the "cooperation agreement" with Ellison and Wang until SBF was in FBI hands

"The judge, Gabriel W. Gorenstein, warned Mr. Bankman-Fried that if he failed to appear in court or violated any of the other conditions, a warrant would be issued for his arrest and he and his parents would be responsible for paying the hefty bond."

So if SBF violates conditions, he and his parents have to pay the $250 million ?