Thursday, February 16th, FTX Founders Sam Bankman-Fried I had to return to Manhattan federal court in New York for the first time in two weeks to explain to the court why I continued to illegally use the internet while out on bail. Bankman-Fried currently lives in his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, awaiting and preparing for his trial, which is scheduled for October. Bankman-Fried’s illegal digital behavior could affect his bail as the government appears to be failing to monitor all his online activity.
A federal judge on Thursday became increasingly impatient with the FTX founder’s continued use of the internet, despite previous warnings, suggesting that imprisonment will ultimately prevent him from communicating on electronic devices. suggest that it may be the single most effective way to prevent
Judge Louis A. Kaplan hasn’t changed the $250 million bail package that’s still in place, but he’s urging Bankman-Fried not to outsmart the government with his mannered use of electronic devices. He suggested that prison could be the only way to be untraceable.
Kaplan noted that Bankman-Fried’s family home may have too many devices that the government doesn’t recognize. And he asked prosecutors why they were “asked to unleash him in this electronics yard.”Kaplan said Bankman-Fried had sent him a Signal text message on Jan. 15. It alluded to prosecutor’s claims that he sent encrypted messages to U.S. legal counsel via the app. FTX US.
According to prosecutors, the message read: I would love to call and chat with you sometime soon. “
Federal prosecutors have told Kaplan that Bankman-Fried’s correspondence indicates that Bankman-Fried may be trying to influence witnesses with incriminating evidence against him.
Prosecutors have now asked Kaplan to limit Bankman-Fried’s use of electronic devices and the Internet, keeping him away from messaging applications and more. They asked him to install a device monitoring program on his cell phone and computer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Roos said banning Bankman-Freed’s use of all electronic devices would be a “dramatic alternative,” as Bankman-Freed faces a trial scheduled for October. He added that it would be very difficult to prepare for ., if that happens.
The court described Bankman-Fried as “a technically sophisticated individual with both an ability and a penchant for seeking workarounds for narrower bail conditions.”
Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest and electronic surveillance to his parents’ home in California since last December after being arrested in the Bahamas. He’s there on charges of defrauding investors and diverting investor deposits to fill financial gaps in Bankman’s separate company, Alameda, his research. So far, he has maintained his innocence.
