As a new development in the ongoing court action involving crypto millionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, his legal team has asked for a third extension on the execution of his updated bail terms. This information was revealed in a new legal filing. The petition was submitted to the court on April 19 in a file that was made in the Southern District of New York. The attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, have indicated that they have effectively enforced “all of the bail conditions set forth in the Order,” with the exception of one of the restrictions, which is monitoring the use of Bankman-Fried’s parents’ mobile phones. The attorneys noted difficulty in installing the requisite monitoring software, which is designed to snap a picture of the user “every five minutes.” They also highlighted issues in obtaining the appropriate user permissions.
Concerns over Bankman-Fried’s access to electronic devices have been voiced on previous occasions, thus this is not the first time the issue is being brought up. Prior to this, Judge Kaplan issued a cautionary statement stating that there was “probable cause” to assume that Bankman-Fried was engaged in an effort to tamper with a witness. On March 28, it was reported that Bankman-Fried’s parents had agreed to restrict their son’s access to their electronic devices and signed affidavits promising not to bring forbidden electronic equipment into their house. Additionally, it was stated that Bankman-Fried had limited his access to their gadgets.
Because of these concerns, Kaplan suggested on March 4 that Bankman-Fried be banned from using any video game platforms or devices, including cellphones, tablets, PCs, and anything else that enables chat and voice contact. According to the plan, Bankman-Fried’s only option for communication should be a “flip phone or other non-smartphone with either no internet capabilities or internet capabilities disabled.”
The continuation of the bail terms imposed on Bankman-Fried draws attention to the continuing judicial struggle that surrounds the billionaire’s suspected participation in an effort to tamper with a witness. While his legal team tries to install the required monitoring software on his parents’ mobile phones, it is now unknown whether or not Bankman-Fried will be able to abide by the court’s updated bail terms. This is the case even though Bankman-Fried is already out on bond.