Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers request extension for bail condition proposal

Lawyers Representing Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-fried in federal court they have requested an extension to present a proposal related to the conditions of his bail.

In a February 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wanted until March 3 to submit a proposal for additional bail conditions. for Bankman-Fried, as well as finding a suitable candidate to act as a technical expert on the case. The lawyers agreed to hire an expert after a hearing on February 16. discussing the use of the former CEO of FTX a virtual private network, or VPN.

“The parties have been diligently vetting candidates to serve as technical consultants to the Court, but have not yet identified a suitable candidate,” the filing says. "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 continuing with the current conditions of Mr. Bankman-Fried's bail for such a period as the Court deems appropriate while these discussions take place."

Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested i could add additional restrictions on the conditions of Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail following a report that SBF used a VPN on January 29 and February 12. stop using VPN until the court can make a decision on it.

SBF has been largely confined to his parents' home in California since he was arraigned in December 2022, but has been brought back to court multiple times to face proceedings related to his bail conditions. Court documents indicated that the former CEO of FTX tried to contact former FTX employees using encrypted messaging apps. Judge Kaplan has also hinted revoking the SBF bond entirelylikely leaving him in federal custody until his criminal trial in October.

Related: Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang plead guilty to fraud charges

Court opened a replacement charge against Bankman-Fried on February 22 containing 12 criminal charges, and not the 8 charges he originally faced on December 13. The indictment included one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and details of his alleged illegal political contributions: using front man donors to make contributions totaling "tens of millions of dollars."