Los Angeles Occasions, Sam Bankman-Fried’s Mother and father Used Their Home to Bail Him Out. However They Hire the Land from Stanford:

Shortly earlier than Christmas, FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried, indicted on federal costs of fraud and cash laundering, was launched on a $250-million bail bond that was secured by his mother and father’ Palo Alto-area dwelling.

The dimensions of the bail bond — 25 occasions larger than Bernie Madoff’s — garnered appreciable consideration. The prosecution termed it “the biggest ever pretrial bond.” What hasn’t drawn discover is the truth that Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who’re professors at Stanford Legislation Faculty, should not typical owners. Their property is a college dwelling on the Stanford campus itself. Stanford owns the land, and Bankman and Fried lease it.

Though the couple advised the courtroom that the five-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot house is price $3.55 million, the restrictions that include proudly owning a house on Stanford property make it tough to gauge its market worth through typical means. Have been Bankman and Fried ever to promote their home — or had been the federal government to take possession of it, within the occasion of a bail violation, after which need to promote it — the pool of potential patrons could be restricted to different eligible Stanford school. Regardless of the state of affairs, a sale would need to undergo Stanford.

It’s a curious circumstance that underscores the huge latitude granted in bail proceedings to rich, white defendants, in sharp distinction to the unforgiving phrases that usually maintain poor folks of shade behind bars whereas they await trial.

“Prosecutors deal with these white-collar instances completely in another way than different instances,” mentioned Alison Siegler, a College of Chicago Legislation Faculty professor. “There’s a scarcity of fairness in all of this.”

Whereas utilizing a Stanford school dwelling to safe bail could also be uncommon, the association is completely authorized. Likewise, there’s nothing unorthodox within the measurement of a bail bond enormously exceeding the worth of the belongings used to safe it. The $250-million determine ascribed to Bankman-Fried’s bond, consultants mentioned, was primarily simply an arbitrary quantity.

“The aim is basically for the mother and father to do every thing attainable to place themselves on the road,” mentioned Columbia College Legislation Faculty professor Daniel Richman. Placing up the household dwelling for bail is a strategy to safe the dedication of individuals near Bankman-Fried who will assist be certain that he doesn’t flee, mentioned Richman, a former federal prosecutor. “It’s virtually symbolic within the sense that they’re taking their most beneficial asset and pledging it.” …

“Below the phrases of their floor lease with the college, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried have the suitable to make use of their leasehold curiosity as collateral for the bond, simply as they will encumber their leasehold curiosity with a mortgage. Neither state of affairs requires approval from the college,” Dee Mostofi, assistant vp for exterior communications, mentioned in an announcement. “Accordingly, the college didn’t give approval for Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried to make use of their leasehold curiosity as collateral for the bond as no approval was required below their floor lease.” …

In “Freedom Denied,” a latest report led by Siegler, the College of Chicago professor, courtroom watchers discovered that judges had been routinely unlawfully jailing poor folks and imposing extreme monetary situations, with folks of shade considerably extra more likely to be jailed unlawfully on money bails that they might not afford. ..

Below the federal Bail Reform Act of 1984, jailing folks earlier than a trial is meant to be the exception, used solely to make sure neighborhood security and that defendants seem in courtroom. However within the a long time since, pretrial detention charges have skyrocketed.

Siegler famous that the prosecution took a really totally different strategy. The federal government mentioned that Bankman-Fried had agreed to extradition from the Bahamas and had “household and neighborhood ties” and that threat to the neighborhood wasn’t a priority.

“That is an insane transcript to learn as a result of the argument the federal government is making is usually the type of argument the protection could be making,” Siegler mentioned. “Right here, the prosecution is advocating to the choose to let this man out pending trial. Often, they’re advocating simply the other.”

From the transcript, Siegler famous that it appeared that Bankman-Fried’s attorneys in all probability negotiated with the federal government to conform to extradition in alternate for pretrial launch in a bail bundle. …

At present, greater than 100,000 folks stay in federal detention awaiting trial. Based on Division of Justice information, 99% of individuals charged with a federal crime and launched pretrial present up in courtroom, and 98% don’t commit crimes.

“It’s so uncommon that anyone doesn’t adjust to these situations once they’re given the prospect to be launched and return to their household,” Siegler mentioned.

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