Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was spotted early Friday arriving at his parents’ Palo Alto, California, home, where he will remain under house arrest after being released on a record $250 million bond.
Two vehicles were seen pulling up to Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried’s residence located in an exclusive neighborhood on the edge of Stanford University’s campus around 4:30 a.m.
A Stanford campus police vehicle was seen outside the home, where the accused cryptocurrency fraudster will be spending his time with Mom and Dad, both law professors.
Bankman-Fried, 30, who was back in the US after his extradition from the Bahamas, is facing a slew of federal charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering carrying a sentence of up to 115 years in prison.
Bankman-Fried appeared in Manhattan federal court Thursday, when a judge signed off on a deal allowing the former CEO to be released on a $250 million bond and be placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor.
Preparations for Bankman-Fried’s ignominious homecoming had been underway for days in the well-heeled Upper San Juan community, the Mercury News reported.
Sheriff’s deputies, campus police and private security closed roads with barriers throughout the area Thursday afternoon to thwart curious onlookers.
Bankman-Fried’s parents bought their cozy four-bedroom, three-bath home in 1992 for about $700,000 — close to $1.5 million in today’s money — records show.
The property, built in 1917, is now estimated to be worth upward of $4 million.
Although a far cry from Bankman-Fried’s over-the-top luxury penthouse in the Bahamas where he was arrested last week, his parents’ home is not devoid of charm, including a sun-dappled dining room with a fireplace, a modern kitchen, a library and a gated pool.
Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos on Thursday said Bankman-Fried “perpetrated a fraud of epic proportions” by allegedly swindling investors and looting customer deposits on his FTX trading platform as it crumbled.
Roos proposed strict bail terms including the $250 million bond — which he said is believed to be the largest federal pretrial bond ever.
The “personal recognizance bond” was to be secured by the equity in Bankman-Fried’s parents’ home and the signature of them and two other financially responsible people with considerable assets, Roos said.
The bail conditions also require that Bankman-Fried not open any new lines of credit, start a business or enter financial transactions larger than $1,000 without the approval of the government or the court.
Bankman-Fried is due back in court Jan. 3.
With Post wires
