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The two mysterious co-signers on FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond managed to keep their identities hidden for a long time, but new court documents have finally revealed who they are.
The two previously unidentified individuals are Andreas Paepcke and Larry Kramer. Paepcke is a senior research scientist at Stanford University, and Kramer previously served as the dean of Stanford Law School.
Bankman-Fried’s parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried are both law professors at Stanford University.
According to the newly released documents, Paepcke and Kramer put up $200,000 and $500,000, respectively, to help secure Bankman-Fried’s release from jail.
Largest pretrial bond in memory
Bankman-Fried was released from jail in December last year after posting a $250m bond in a New York court. The massive size of the bond has raised eyebrows, and US Attorney Nicolas Roos said at the time that the bond was the largest pretrial bond that he could recall.
The only known co-signers of the bond at the time Bankman-Fried was released was his parents, who put up their Palo Alto, California home as collateral for the bond.
Given that the relatively modest home is not worth anywhere near $250m, however, it has long been unclear what role the two additional co-signers had in securing Bankman-Fried’s release. However, it now appears that the additional $700,000 put up by the two individuals was enough to satisfy the requirements for the bond.
A report from The Daily Beast on Wednesday indicated that Bankman-Fried’s legal team has fought against multiple attempts by the media to reveal who the additional co-signers were. Still, they eventually chose not to appeal a decision by the judge in the case to reveal the names, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Friendship with Bankman-Fried’s parents
In a statement provided to CoinDesk on Wednesday, Larry Kramer said that it was his close friendship with Bankman-Fried’s parents that led him to sign and put up the half a million dollars for the bond.
Kramer explained that Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried had offered care when his own family battled with cancer, and that he therefore wanted to support them “as they face their own crisis.”
“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. Nor do I have any comment or position regarding the substance of the legal matter itself, which is what the trial will be for,” Kramer was quoted as saying.
Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in The Bahamas – where his exchange was headquartered – on December 13. He was initially held at the country’s infamous Fox Hill detention center, before being extradited to the United States and released on bail.
He has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, but admitted that certain mistakes were made during his time as the head of FTX.
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