Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court have asked for an extension to file a proposal related to bail conditions.
In a Feb. 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wants until March 3 to file a proposal for additional bail conditions for Bankman-Fried as well as the search. suitable candidate to act as a technical expert in the case. Attorneys agreed to hire an expert after a Feb. 16 hearing discussing the former FTX CEO’s use of a virtual private network, or VPN.
“The party has been diligently vetting candidates to serve as a technical consultant to the Court but has not identified a suitable candidate,” said the submission. “Similarly, the parties have engaged in productive discussions regarding additional bail terms for Mr. Bankman-Fried but would like more time to complete those discussions.”
Cohen added:
“The government does not object to this request. The parties also do not object to continuing Mr. Bankman-Fried’s current bail conditions for any period deemed appropriate by the Court when the discussions are underway.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested that he could add additional limits to Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail condition after the SBF report used VPN on January 29 and February 12. A lawyer representing the former CEO claims he used the technology to watch football games. but still agreed to have Bankman-Fried stop using the VPN until the court can make a decision on the matter.
SBF has been largely confined to his parents’ California home since his indictment in December 2022, but has been brought back to court several times to face proceedings related to his bail conditions. Court documents allege that the former CEO of FTX attempted to contact former FTX employees using an encrypted messaging application. Judge Kaplan has also hinted at revoking SBF’s custody entirely, possibly leaving him in federal custody until his October criminal trial.
related: Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to fraud charges
The court released a superseded indictment against Bankman-Fried on February 22nd that contained 12 criminal charges, and not the eight charges she faced on December 13th. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and details of alleged illegal politics. contributions – using straw donors to make contributions totaling “tens of millions of dollars.”