--- title: "SBF’s Dad Kept Sticking His Fingers in Ears During Court Hearing" description: "Disgraced ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was officially arrested Monday night in the Bahamas on US criminal charges, just had his first court hearing." date: "2022-12-15" modified: "2022-12-15" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/sbf-dad-sticking-fingers-in-ears-court-hearing" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "crypto" - "ftx" - "sam bankman-fried" - "sbf" --- # SBF’s Dad Kept Sticking His Fingers in Ears During Court Hearing ![Disgraced ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was officially arrested Monday night in the Bahamas on US criminal charges, just had his first court hearing.]() *\Image: Alex Wong via Getty / Futurism\* Disgraced [former FTX CEO]() Sam Bankman-Fried, who was [officially arrested]() Monday night in the Bahamas on US criminal charges, just had his first court hearing. And [like the entirety]() of the spectacular FTX implosion, the hearing sounded... strange. *Coindesk* [reports that]() before proceedings began, SBF, who's known to use Emsam patches, had to leave the courtroom to take his shirt off, seemingly to apply a new patch. Later, the prevailing judge noted that the question of whether to assign SBF cash bail was on the brink of driving her to drink. "On a good day, I don't drink. Ask anybody," Magistrate Judge Joyann Ferguson-Pratt told the courtroom, according to *Coindesk*. "But yesterday, I was sure gonna drink." Also present were Bankman-Fried's parents, respected Stanford law professors Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried. They sat three rows back from SBF's seat — and according to *Coindesk*, each parent employed their own unique coping methods. "They appeared to oscillate between dejection and defiance, at times holding their heads in their hands and clasping their hands," reads the report. "Bankman-Fried's mother audibly laughed several times when her son was referred to as a 'fugitive' and his father occasionally put his fingers in his ears as if to drown out the sound of the proceedings." Indeed, SBF's parents have emerged as fascinating figures — and, potentially, future legal targets — in the FTX saga. Bankman, a tax law expert who has testified before Congress on matters related to tax reform, was a bankrolled FTX employee with a major hand in the company's charity efforts. For her part, Fried wasn't known to be getting any FTX paychecks, but [according to *The New York Times*]() has written extensively about "effective altruism" — the philanthropic, "get rich to do good because that's definitely always worked out" ideology that SBF once publicly swore to embody. (Since FTX crashed, SBF has admitted that his outward embrace of effective altruism was "[mostly a front]().") Bankman and Fried remain, as most parents likely would, in their son's inner circle — as parents, but also as legal advisors, according to the *NYT*. Understandable, however the professors *do* have some big questions to answer regarding the massive amounts of luxury real estate purchased with FTX cash. Collectively, FTX and the Bankman-Fried family owned roughly 19 Bahamian properties worth nearly $121 million, according to a November report [from *Reuters*](). Bankman and Fried's names are listed on the deed of a luxury home in Nassau's Old Fort Bay which, per the *NYT*, is worth about $16.4 million*.* (A spokesperson for the couple told the *NYT* that the professors "never intended to and never believed they had any beneficial or economic ownership in the house." *Reuters* reports that documents dating back to June listed the mansion as a "vacation home.") That said, enjoying the spoils of what was once a well-regarded, multi-billion dollar company isn't technically a crime, and there's no public evidence that Bankman or Fried were aware of any wrongdoing. Regardless, the Bankman-Fried clan has a long road ahead. And considering that this was just the first court appearance in what will likely be many in the weeks, months, and even years to come, Bankman might do well to get a bit more comfortable with the charges his son — who's been widely compared to Bernie Madoff — is facing. **READ MORE:** *[Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's First Bahamas Court Hearing After His Arrest]()* \[*Coindesk*\] **More on the FTX fallout:** *[FTX's New CEO Says Company Did "Old Fashioned Embezzlement"]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()