Bankman-Fried asks judge to conceal identities of bail guarantors: Report

Accused fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a judge to conceal the backers of his mammoth bail package, claiming that revealing their identities could open them up to serious harassment and controversy. 

Bankman-Fried's lawyers on Tuesday "filed a letter seeking redactions of the names of the two people who intend to sign on as sureties to his $250 million bail package," Bloomberg reports. 

The former cryptocurrency maven was the founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX prior to its historic collapse in November of last year; he was hit with multiple wire fraud and money laundering charges in the wake of the exchange's destruction.

Bankman-Fried's attorneys claimed that if the backers of his bail were identified, "they will likely be subjected to probing media scrutiny, and potentially targeted for harassment, despite having no substantive connection to the case."

“Consequently, the privacy and safety of the sureties are ‘countervailing factors’ that significantly outweigh the presumption of public access to the very limited information at issue," they argued. 

The bail is already backed by a house belonging to Bankman-Fried's parents, but the presiding judge in the case took the unusual step of asking for two additional signees on the note. 

The guarantors have until Jan. 5 to sign for the bail.