PALO ALTO, Calif. — Amid death threats and sudden global infamy, accused FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and his parents have turned their posh Stanford home into a heavily guarded fortress.
The family is shelling out roughly $10,000 a week to have a private Bay Area security firm patrol the leafy, 3,000-square-foot residence with several armed guards working around the clock, sources told The Post.
“They’re nervous,” one source said. “There have been death threats. They’re not taking any chances.”
Bankman-Fried threw cryptocurrency into chaos with the collapse of his FTX exchange, which came amid federal prosecutors investigating his alleged illegal use of investors’ money to prop up his Alameda hedge fund.
He was jailed in the Bahamas, where he had set up his crypto empire, then extradited to the US, where he is now under house arrest with a $250 million bond.
The episode has had a significant impact on Bankman-Fried’s father, Stanford Law professor Joseph Bankman, and mother, Barbara Fried, a tax expert at the same university.
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The fallen wunderkind’s parents have rarely left the home since their son’s unexpected return, sources said, relying on delivered food and groceries for the most part.
Wary of prying eyes from all angles, the family also expanded fencing on the property to limit exposure to adjacent student housing and other dwellings, several sources said.
Bankman is the only one to break cover, having sought to relieve some stress with occasional escorted jogs, sources said.
Stanford officials have also taken steps to secure the area around the Bankman-Fried homestead, barricading both ends of their short block and stationing privately contracted security guards at the gates.
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Situated in a woodsy and normally tranquil enclave near Stanford University, the Bankman-Fried home has abruptly transformed into a tourist attraction and Instagram magnet.
Visitors who’ve stopped to gaze at the property have ranged from awestruck students to irritated neighbors to retired rocket scientists out for a weekend bike ride.
One young man came to the home last week with his father and told reporters that he “lost everything” with FTX and wanted to get a glimpse of his one-time hero’s current lodgings. He declined to give his name.
Another woman briefly descended on the scene to take a quick picture of herself holding up a sign demanding justice for those who lost money in the FTX fiasco.
After securing the shot and bemoaning the lack of fellow protesters, she left.
Bankman-Fried, who faces up to 115 years in prison for allegedly siphoning customer monies for himself, is due back in court in New York next week.
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