On March 10, Reuters reported that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan had raised concerns about proposed bail terms for former FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
As Cointelegraph previously reported on March 4, Kaplan — who serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York — suggested Bankman-Fried use smartphones, tablets, computers, and any video game platform or device that supports chat allow, prohibit and voice communication. The proposal said Bankman-Fried’s communications should be limited to “a flip phone or other non-smartphone with either no internet capabilities or disabled internet capabilities.”
However, Reuters reported that at a March 10 hearing, Kaplan expressed concern about the proposal, noting that Bankman-Fried was “inventive” and could find ways to circumvent the restrictions and covertly communicate with others electronically.
Kaplan reportedly shared:
“He could find a way around it and possibly not get caught.”
Christian Everdell, attorney for Bankman-Fried, assured the court that he would work with prosecutors on a new proposal to address the judge’s concerns.
Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys are seeking an extension of the bail request
Bankman-Fried is currently fighting to avoid jail until his scheduled October 2 fraud trial. Prosecutors have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in FTX client funds, making tens of millions of dollars in illegal political donations and tampering with witnesses.
Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail has been under investigation since February 9 after it was revealed he had attempted to contact potential witnesses in his case. He was also temporarily banned from using a VPN after prosecutors claimed he used it twice, on January 29 and February 12.
Three of Bankman-Fried’s formerly closest associates — including former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang and former FTX chief technology officer Nishad Singh — have pleaded guilty and are supporting prosecutors.
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