Flip phones and other outdated technologies could be approved for use in court during the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. This would be in addition to other restrictions, such as no social media or internet use.
The lawyers have been working hard to satisfy the concerns of Judge Lewis Kaplan, who said he could “conceivably” revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail after he found there was a “threat” of witness tampering.
The crypto entrepreneur reached out to the former general counsel of FTX using a virtual private network, or VPN, days after the judge said he wanted to restrict the use of encrypted devices.
The mastermind of one of the largest financial frauds in US history, Bankman-Fried has been charged with conspiracy and fraud. Prosecutors allege that he illegally misused customer funds to prop up his related hedge fund, Alameda Research, as well as make venture investments and donate to political campaigns in order to influence policy. Bankman-Fried has plead not guilty to all charges and is currently awaiting trial.
Stanford University law professor Bankman-Fried has been released on a $250 million bond and is confined to the home of his parents in Palo Alto, California.
Under the proposal, Bankman-Fried’s new laptop will be set up so that he can only access the internet through specified VPNs, which will only allow him to visit websites that have been approved by the VPNs.
Among the websites are ones he could use to prepare for his defense, including Zoom, Microsoft Office, Python, and Adobe Acrobat. Monitoring tools would also be installed on his laptop and he would be prohibited from buying electronic devices.
Bankman-Fried also would be restricted from scrolling the internet, with his access limited to court-approved websites. The lawyers proposed several sites to help prepare his defense, including a read-only website showing crypto prices, and research websites. Bankman-Fried also asked to view others for his personal use, including news sites, Netflix, Spotify, Uber Eats, Amazon and baseball and football sites.