Lawyers representing the former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court, he asked for an extension of time to file a motion related to his bail conditions.
In a Feb. 24 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wants to file a motion for additional bail conditions for Bankman-Fried by March 3, as well as find a suitable candidate to act as a technical expert in the given case. The attorneys agreed to hire an expert after a Feb. 16 hearing discussion of the use of the former CEO of FTX virtual private networks or VPNs.
“The parties have diligently reviewed candidates to serve as the court’s technical advisor, but have not yet identified a suitable candidate,” the filing states. “Similarly, the parties have engaged in productive discussions regarding additional bail conditions for Mr. Bankman-Fried, but would like more time to complete those discussions.”
Cohen added:
“The government has no objection to this request. The parties also have no objection to the continuation of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s current bail conditions for any period the court deems appropriate during these hearings.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan he suggested he might add further restrictions on the terms of Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail after the SBF report used VPN on January 29 and February 12. Lawyers representing the former CEO argued that he used the technology to watch football matches, but he still agreed to tell Bankman-Fried to stop using the VPN until the court reached a decision on the matter.
SBF has been largely confined to his parents’ California home since his indictment in December 2022, but has appeared in court several times to face proceedings related to his bail conditions. Court documents said the former CEO of FTX attempted to contact former FTX employees using encrypted messaging apps. Judge Kaplan also hinted complete cancellation of the SBF bondlikely to keep him in federal custody pending his October criminal trial.
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Court unsealed the superseding indictment against Bankman-Fried on February 22 containing 12 felonies rather than the eight charges he originally faced on December 13. The indictment included charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and details of his alleged illegal political contributions — using straw donors to contribute totaling “tens of millions of dollars.”
