Sam Bankman-Fried should be cut off from the Internet: Prosecutor
Important takeaways
- American lawyer Damian Williams wants Sam Bankman-Fried’s use of mobile 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 claims that Bankman-Fried is too computer literate to access the Internet while on bail.
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Because he is so willing to circumvent his bail conditions, Sam Bankman-Fried should be completely cut off from the internet while he awaits trial, prosecutors say.
A technologically sophisticated person
The prosecution will once again tighten Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions.
United States Attorney Damian Williams submitted a letter yesterday to Judge Lewis Kaplan who argued that the court should restrict Bankman-Fried’s use of cell phones, tablets, computers and the Internet while he awaits trial.
The request follows prosecutors’ discovery on February 13 that the disgraced crypto entrepreneur had used a virtual private network (VPN) on at least two recent occasions to access the internet. Bankman-Fried claimed he had only used a VPN to access 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 February 12. Williams pointed out that Bankman-Fried did not need Game Pass to watch the Super Bowl, since it was broadcast on cable television.
Williams also highlighted Bankman-Fried’s recent approach to FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller through encrypted messaging app Signal. On January 15, Bankman-Fried messaged Miller that he would “really love to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or in that the youngest knows things about each other.”
Prosecutors argued that the message was a potential attempt to influence a witness’s testimony, or even intimidate Miller into not testifying against him. The court then prohibited Bankman-Fried from using encrypted messaging apps or from reaching out to former employees without an attorney present.
However, Williams argued in his letter yesterday that Bankman-Fried was a “technologically sophisticated individual with both the ability and inclination to seek solutions” to his bail conditions and that he only banned him from accessing the internet altogether – except for matters concerning his case – would prevent further witness tampering. He also stated that Bankman-Fried’s use of a VPN indicated that he could have been responsible illegal relocation over $800,000 in funding tied to Alameda Research back in December.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH and several other crypto assets.
