Sam Bankman-Fried’s Stanford parents physically threatened, his lawyers say

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers say he wants to keep confidential the identities of two people who helped secure his $250 million bail in order to protect them from the threats of physical harm, harassment and intense public scrutiny that his Stanford law professor parents have endured since the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Ahead of Bankman-Fried’s appearance in court Tuesday, where he is expected to plead not guilty to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy and more, his attorneys submitted a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, explaining their concerns about the safety and privacy of two people who intend to sign on as sureties for their client’s massive bail package.

“In recent weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents have become the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats,” the letter said, referring to Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, and his mother, Barbara Fried. The letter said the couple, both longtime professors at Stanford Law School, “have received a steady stream of threatening correspondence, including communications expressing a desire that they suffer physical harm.”

“Consequently, there is serious cause for concern that the two additional sureties would face similar intrusions on their privacy as well as threats and harassment if their names appear unredacted on their bonds or their identities are otherwise publicly disclosed,” the letter continued.

Following Bankman-Fried’s arrest in the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered, and extradition to the United States, he was allowed to be released from custody, as long as he stays under house arrest and with electronic monitoring in his parents’ home on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto. He also needed to post a $250 million bond, which is an unprecedented amount for bail, as the New York Times has reported.