Sam Bankman-Fried used a VPN to watch Super Bowl; hit with new bail restriction
Prosecutors said the use of a VPN by the FTX founder prevents them from monitoring his behavior online
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A federal judge slapped a new bail restriction on Sam Bankman-Fried Tuesday, after finding out the disgraced FTX founder has been using a virtual private network (VPN) to watch football in recent weeks.
Prosecutors filed a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan Monday night, alerting him that they discovered Bankman-Fried used a VPN to access the internet on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12, raising concerns that his use of a private network prevents them from monitoring his behavior online.
Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Federal Court in New York City on Thursday, December 22, 2022. The former CEO of FTX and Alameda has been released on $250M bail. (Charles Guerin/Abaca for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
Addressing the issue in court on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried's defense team explained that their client had used the VPN to access his NFL Game Pass subscription to watch the AFC and NFC championship games, as well as the Super Bowl.
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Kaplan was not happy to hear about Bankman-Fried using a private network and immediately banned him from doing so again, ruling that "the defendant's use of a VPN presents many of the same risks associated with use of an encrypted messaging or call application" – which he is already prohibited from using under his current bail agreement.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks during a news conference about the criminal charges filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, in New York. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the former CEO of faile (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson / AP Newsroom)
The judge also ordered Bankman-Fried back in court Thursday for another hearing on the matter, denying the parties' request for an extension of time to submit further proposed modifications to the defendant's bail conditions.
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Bankman-Fried is on house arrest at him parents' Palo Alto, California, home on a $250 million bond after pleading not guilty to several charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and chief executive of FTX, in Nassau, Bahamas, on April 26, 2022. (Erika P. Rodriguez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Kaplan placed restrictions on Bankman-Fried's communications weeks ago after prosecutors raised concerns that the former crypto titan would use encrypted messages to reach out to his former employees at FTX and his hedge fund, Alameda Research, in an effort to tamper with witnesses while out on bail.