Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 08, 2025

We just learned the names of the 2 people secretly guaranteeing Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond

We just learned the names of the 2 people secretly guaranteeing Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond

A federal judge has unsealed the names of two people who are sponsoring Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond, siding with media organizations — including Insider — who argued in court that their identities should be made public.
Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford University's law school, contributed $500,000 to the bond, according to court records unsealed Wednesday afternoon. Another person named Andreas Paepcke, who appears to be a research scientist at Stanford University, gave $200,000 for the bond, records show.

Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who are both professors at Stanford University's law school, have also contributed to the bond. They guaranteed the value of their home in Palo Alto, California, where the FTX founder is allowed to remain ahead of a criminal trial on fraud charges.

Kramer told Insider that he and his wife are friends with Bankman-Fried's parents.

"Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s," Kramer wrote in an email. "During the past two years, while my family faced a harrowing battle with cancer, they have been the truest of friends – bringing food, providing moral support, and frequently stepping in at moment's notice to help. In turn, we have sought to support them as they face their own crisis."

He also said he had no business interest in the $500,000 he contributed towards Bankman-Fried's bond.

"My actions are in my personal capacity, and I have no business dealings or interest in this matter other than to help our loyal and steadfast friends," Kramer wrote. "Nor do I have any comment or position regarding the substance of the legal matter itself, which is what the trial will be for."

In December, federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought eight criminal counts against Samuel Bankman-Fried, alleging he "orchestrated a years-long fraud" by misleading investors and customers about FTX, his cryptocurrency exchange, and commingling funds with Alameda Research, a hedge fund he also controlled. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lawyers for Bankman-Fried have spent the weeks since his arrest trying to keep the names of Paepcke and Kramer secret, arguing the two would be subject to harassment if their names were made public.

But US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on January 30 sided with media organizations — including Insider — which argued that it was in the public's interest to reveal the names.

"Given Mr. Bankman-Fried's relationships and access to some of the most wealthy, powerful, and politically connected individuals, including elected officials, access to the identity of the bond sureties will bolster trust in the judicial process here," lawyers for the news organizations argued in a filing.

The judge ruled that the public interest outweighed any privacy rights the sponsors had and that they knew what they were getting into.

"The non-parental bail sureties have entered voluntarily into a highly publicized criminal proceeding by signing the individual bonds," Kaplan wrote in his January 30 decision.

Kaplan gave Bankman-Fried's lawyers a chance to appeal his decision. But while they filed a document indicating they intended to appeal, they failed to file a separate request asking the appeals court to pause Kaplan's order, leading to the names of Kramer and Paepke to be unsealed Wednesday.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. Paepcke and representatives for Stanford University and Stanford Law School didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Prosecutors and Bankman-Fried's attorneys are still wrangling over the terms of his home confinement conditions. In the past week, prosecutors and the judge have raised concerns that Bankman-Fried has access to tools that allow him to auto-delete and encrypt messages, and to use a virtual private network, or VPN, that allows him to disguise his internet activity.

His attorneys said in court filings that Bankman-Fried used a VPN to watch NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×