Flip phones and other outdated technologies could be approved for use in court during the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried.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 (VPN) in order to try and clear his name.
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 $250,000 bail.
Under the proposal, Bankman-Fried’s new laptop would be set up so that he could only access the internet through specified VPNs, which would 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. Bankman-Fried would also be prohibited from buying electronic devices.
Bankman-Fried 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. He would be allowed to visit other websites only with prior approval from his legal team.