A federal judge extended restrictions on Sam Bankman-Fried’s ability to contact former employees of FTX, citing concerns that he could delete text messages and obstruct the government’s investigation.
Judge Lewis Kaplan said in a bail hearing Thursday that he was concerned about the delete functions in certain messaging apps, and that he needed more information from Bankman-Fried’s attorneys about how they intend to preserve their client’s communications while he awaits trial on federal fraud and conspiracy charges.
Bankman-Fried’s Thursday hearing came after prosecutors raised concerns about potential witness tampering, citing a text message Bankman-Fried sent to the former general counsel of FTX, the bankrupt crypto exchange.
The judge said last week that the text message appeared to be a “material threat of inappropriate.” Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in January. He is under house arrest on a $250 million bond, residing in his parents’ Palo Alto, California, home, while he awaits trial.
Both sides were in court Thursday after Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said they reached an agreement with prosecutors to restrict the use of encrypted messages. Under its terms, Bankman-Fried would not be permitted to use encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal, that the government can’t easily obtain information. But he would be allowed to use FaceTime and Zoom to place audio and video calls, and text using iPhone messages, email, and Facebook messenger, and his messages would be archived.
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The judge was skeptical of the government’s confidence that it would be able to retrieve messages sent on those other apps and wanted more information about how messages could be retrieved if they were deleted.
He also asked why prosecutors weren’t concerned about other means of communication, citing recent news articles that 57 letters written by Mary Queen of Scots dating to the 1500s were recently deciphered.
“Are we being a little short-sighted by focusing only on apps?,” he asked. “What about other forms of communication, like handwritten letters? They can be just as incriminating as messages sent on apps.”
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