Sam Bankman-Fried Returns to Jail

Sam Bankman-Fried, the person behind a cryptocurrency company that failed and faced fraud charges, has been told by a US judge to stay in jail until his trial.

The 31-year-old was put in handcuffs at court and taken away. His mother cried when she saw what happened.

Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed with prosecutors who said Mr. Bankman-Fried tried to influence witnesses who were going to testify against him.

However, Bankman denied the claims.

On Friday in court, Judge Kaplan said, “It seems likely that the defendant tried to interfere with witnesses on at least two occasions.”

They had a court session to decide if Mr. Bankman-Fried should stay out of jail until his trial in October.

The 31-year-old was arrested in December for using money from investors and customers of a cryptocurrency exchange called FTX inappropriately. They used the money for buying property, making political donations, and covering losses in their hedge fund called Alameda Research, which had financial problems.

The ex-billionaire said the accusations weren’t true. He got out of jail by paying $250 million and went to live with his parents in Palo Alto, California.

On Friday, he had to give up his stuff from his pockets and take off his shoelaces, jacket, and tie before the US Marshals Service took him away.