Judge Yanks FTX Founder and Democrat Super Donor Sam Bankman-Fried Back into Court over Internet Usage

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly been pulled back to court over his recent use of a VPN to conceal his internet activity, potentially violating court orders. SBF’s lawyers claim he only used the encrypted internet connection to watch NFL games including the Super Bowl.

CNN reports that Judge Lewis Kaplan has summoned disgraced FTX founder and Democrat super donor Sam Bankman-Fried back to court after it was discovered that he had used a virtual private network (VPN), which conceals online activity from outside parties, including the government. The judge was concerned about Bankman-Fried’s use of encryption and whether or not the government could monitor his activities while he is out on bail.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (second on left) is led away in handcuffs by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas, on December 13, 2022. (MARIO DUNCANSON/AFP via Getty Images)

While awaiting trial on fraud and conspiracy charges, Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest with a $250 million bond. He entered a not-guilty plea to the charges. Whether he is permitted to use a VPN to conceal his internet activity while on bail will be decided at the hearing.

The FTX founder is charged with participating in a fraudulent scheme in which he and others are accused of placing sizable fake orders in an effort to simulate demand and raise the price of particular cryptocurrency tokens.

Attorneys for Bankman-Fried claim that their client accessed an NFL Game Pass international subscription through a VPN to watch NFL playoff and Super Bowl games while on bail in the U.S. using a subscription purchased while residing in the Bahamas.

According to prosecutors, there are several potential issues with the use of VPNs. First and foremost, it is an encryption mechanism that shields online activities from prying eyes, including investigators determining what happened with billions of dollars missing from FTX. Second, it is a way to hide a user’s location online — according to prosecutors, some people use VPNs to hide the fact that they are connecting to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges that use IP addresses to block U.S. users.

“The defendant’s use of a VPN presents many of the same risks associated with his use of an encrypted messaging or call application,” Judge Kaplan said, adding that Bankman-Fried could not use VPNs until the outcome of the hearing.

Prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked the judge for more time to work out new bail terms, but the judge rejected that, calling them back to court for the second time in a week.

Judge Kaplan expressed his concern regarding Bankman-Fried’s use of apps that can encrypt messages and calls, like WhatsApp and Signal, making them more difficult for the government to intercept. Bankman-Fried was told not to use any encrypted messaging services, and the judge threatened to revoke his pre-trial release if he disobeyed.

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys claimed in a letter to the judge that their client “mistakenly believed” that he could use VPNs while out on bail but had stopped after learning that this was not the case. They stated, “Mr. Bankman-Fried regrets the confusion and misunderstanding caused by his use of VPNs.”