key takeaways
- US Attorney Damian Williams wants Sam Bankman-Fried’s use of cell phones, tablets, computers and the Internet to be severely limited.
- Bankman-Fried recently used a VPN on two occasions; he also used Signal to contact a former employee.
- Williams argues that Bankman-Fried is too computer-savvy to be granted Internet access while on bail.
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Because he is so willing to circumvent his bail conditions, Sam Bankman-Fried should be completely offline while he awaits trial, prosecutors say.
A technologically sophisticated person
Prosecutors want to tighten bail conditions for Sam Bankman-Fried once again.
United States Attorney Damian Williams sent a letter yesterday to Judge Lewis Kaplan arguing that the court should limit Bankman-Fried’s use of cell phones, tablets, computers and the Internet while she awaits trial.
The request follows a discovery by prosecutors on Feb. 13 that the disgraced crypto founder had used a virtual private network (VPN) on at least two recent occasions to access the internet. Bankman-Fried claimed that he had only used a VPN to access his NFL Game Pass (which he had purchased in the Bahamas) to watch the AFC and NFC championship games on January 29 and the Super Bowl on January 12. February. Williams pointed out that Bankman-Fried did not need his Game Pass to watch the Super Bowl, as it was broadcast on cable television.
Williams also highlighted Bankman-Fried’s recent contact with FTX US General Counsel Ryne Miller via the encrypted messaging app Signal. On January 15, Bankman-Fried sent a message to Miller saying that she “would really love to reconnect and see if there’s any way we can have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least examine things between us.” other.”
Prosecutors claimed the message was a potential attempt to influence a witness’s testimony, or even to intimidate Miller from testifying against him. The court later barred Bankman-Fried from using encrypted messaging apps or communicating with former employees without a lawyer present.
However, Williams argued in his letter yesterday that Bankman-Fried was a “technologically sophisticated individual with the ability and inclination to seek alternative solutions” to his bail conditions, and to only ban him from the Internet entirely, except for matters related to your case, you would avoid further witness tampering. He also claimed that Bankman-Fried’s use of a VPN indicated that he may have been responsible for moving illegally more than $800,000 in funding associated with Alameda Research in December.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owned BTC, ETH, and various other crypto assets.
