FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried went to jail Friday when a choose revoked his bail because of alleged witness tampering involving leaks to the media, CNBC reported.
Bankman-Fried will keep at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Heart till his Oct. 2 prison trial, per CNBC.
Bankman-Fried has a number of wire and securities fraud expenses linked to an alleged multibillion-dollar FTX fraud, in keeping with CNBC. The prosecution mentioned Bankman-Fried tried to discredit his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, by releasing her personal diary entries to the New York Occasions.
Ellison was the previous chief government of Bankman-Fried’s defunct Alameda Analysis, a crypto hedge fund, per CNBC. She is the prosecution’s witness.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in December.
Why it issues: Bankman-Fried made some ill-fated strikes by frequently coping with the press, which the choose noticed as a significant problem.
Making an attempt a case within the media is a well-liked PR approach (see the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial) — but it surely comes with many dangers. It’s attainable to additional incriminate your self, paint your self in a nasty (if not unlawful) mild or, as Bankman-Fried discovered, be accused of intimidating witnesses. We’ve additionally seen comparable points surrounding former President Donald Trump’s social media posts.
It seems that Bankman-Fried did most of this media outreach on his personal, not by an middleman like a PR skilled or an legal professional: “Bankman-Fried had over 100 telephone calls with one of many authors of the Occasions story previous to publication – lots of which lasted for roughly 20 minutes,” CNBC reported.
Way back to final December, Bankman-Fried admitted his legal professionals informed him to close up. And he didn’t. These actions proceed to hang-out Bankman-Fried, with mounting penalties together with jail time.
Most of us in PR aren’t attorneys. It’s not unusual to offer PR recommendation throughout trials, however we have to be working in lockstep with attorneys to offer recommendation that may place our shoppers properly — and preserve them out of jail. Like Bankman-Fried’s legal professional, we will’t guarantee our recommendation is adopted. However ensure you’re quick buddies with the authorized division at any time when a courtroom is concerned or more likely to be concerned and work collectively to mount a method that strikes the correct stability between influencing public opinion and protecting your consumer out of authorized peril.
Editor’s Prime Picks:
- The Writers Guild of America, which represents the Hollywood writers on strike, introduced a counterproposal from the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers, which negotiates on behalf of firms like Netflix and Walt Disney. The WGA famous that it might reply this week “after deliberation.” The twin strike of actors and writers has confirmed brutal for a lot of publicists working within the movie business. Right here’s hoping for swift, truthful decision that places everybody again to work quickly.
- It’s a Beyoncé and Taylor Swift world. The 2 music icons are on tour with Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” and Swift’s “Eras” creating cultural explosions wherever they go. Submit-pandemic “revenge spending” is up, influencing individuals to spend on experiences fairly than items. Followers are spending 1000’s on these live shows and dressing up. “Individuals need to expertise a enjoyable and groundbreaking approach to rejoice their id, to rejoice music,” Ozzie Henderson, co-founder of occasion firm Foolonia, informed the New York Occasions. Manufacturers ought to discover methods to create extra interactive experiences for his or her stakeholders with product debuts and campaigns — and even discover methods to piggyback on these cultural phenomena .
- Have you ever seen the brand new livestream TikTok pattern the place individuals act like nonplayer characters (NPCs) from video video games? This viral phenomenon is influencing social media influencers to behave and sound like online game characters based mostly on viewer ideas. A viewer, for instance, would possibly ship the influencer a hamburger emoji or a flower emoji as a present throughout a livestream. That present turns into actual cash for the influencer who would, in NPC style, faux to eat the meals or odor the flower. This might be a chance for manufacturers to get in on the motion. Contemplate distinctive methods to capitalize on this second to construct viewers engagement and increase model visibility.
Sherri Kolade is a author at Ragan Communications. When she will not be together with her household, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style movies, studying and constructing an authentically curated life that features greater than often discovering one thing deliciously fried. Observe her on LinkedIn. Have an awesome PR story concept? E-mail her at sherrik@ragan.com.
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