Sam Bankman-Fried is in hot water once more for saying too much. A federal judge briefly tightened the FTX founder’s bail conditions on Wednesday after learning that Bankman-Fried texted a former top executive of the crypto trading platform.
That appeared to be a “material threat of inappropriate interaction with prospective witnesses,” according to the judge.
Sam Bankman-Fried Bail
Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried is not permitted to contact current or former FTX employees without the presence of attorneys, nor is she permitted to connect via encrypted messaging apps until Kaplan hears arguments from both sides at a hearing next week.
The restriction was imposed after federal prosecutors raised the possibility of witness tampering after discovering that Bankman-Fried had recently contacted the former general counsel of FTX, known as “Witness-1” in court records.
Witness-1, according to prosecutors, could be called to testify against Bankman-Fried during his trial. Bankman-Fried has entered a not-guilty plea to eight counts of fraud and conspiracy.
“I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. And I know things have ended up on the wrong foot. I would really love to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other. I’d love to get on a phone call sometime soon and chat.”
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Kaplan’s Point Of View
The judge rejected Bankman-lawyers’ Fried’s claim that the message was harmless.
“In perhaps more colloquial terms, it appears to have been an effort to have both the defendant and Witness-1 sing out of the same hymn book.” Kaplan wrote.
Federal prosecutors and Bankman-attorneys Fried’s will write to Kaplan next week to clarify how they expect to keep track of the accused schemer’s digital communications.
The constraints recommended by prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s counsel earlier this week, according to Kaplan, nonetheless constitute a “serious risk of misuse” due to the sheer number of ways he may contact those involved in the case.
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