Prosecutors in the case against both Sam Bankman-Fried and his now defunct crypto company FTX are asking the judge overlooking things to allow them access to a virtual private network (VPN) that SBF used to garner access to the internet. They are unsure of what his activities were, and they believe that new bail conditions now need to be set for the former crypto executive.
Sam Bankman-Fried Used a Private Network for Internet Access
Danielle Sassoon – a prosecutor in the case – said that while a VPN can, at this stage, be found in most private residences and businesses, the idea that someone like SBF is using one raises concerns given his past crimes and malicious deeds. She commented in a statement:
As defense counsel has pointed out, and the government does not dispute, many individuals use a VPN for benign purposes. In the government’s view, however, the use of a VPN raises several potential concerns. For instance, it is well known that some individuals use VPNs to disguise the fact that they are accessing international cryptocurrency exchanges that use IPs to block U.S. users.
Sam Bankman-Fried – in a previous court hearing – had already been barred from extensive contact with both former and present employees of FTX. He is also banned from using private text apps such as Signal that allow users to auto-delete whatever messages they send.
Sam Bankman-Fried is currently awaiting trial at his parents’ home in Northern California. He has been charged with several crimes including fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, though he has entered a not-guilty plea in recent months. He is currently out on a $250 million bond, meaning his parents and several friends have put up items as collateral should SBF ever try to flee the country or do something stupid. Should this occur, they’ll lose all they’ve put up to cover that figure to the U.S. government.
The FTX debacle is likely to go down as one of the biggest embarrassments in crypto history. Once considered a top-of-the-line crypto exchange, FTX first came about in 2019 and rose into the category of top five crypto exchanges by the time 2022 came about. Things were looking great for the company, and SBF was labeled as a genius by many.
The Problems Begin
However, the reputation was short lived as in November of last year, the former executive announced online that his company was experiencing a liquidity crunch, and he needed fast cash to stay afloat. Initially, it looked like popular rival Binance was going to buy the firm out, but this never happened given that the larger enterprise felt that FTX’s issues were too big for it to handle.
From there, the company fell into complete disarray. A bankruptcy procedure followed and SBF quickly resigned from his post.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/prosecutors-concerned-over-sam-bankman-fried-using-a-vpn/