Sam Bankman-Fried in hot water for watching Super Bowl on house arrest using VPN

Crypto executive remains under house arrest in California

Millions of people across the US tuned into the Super Bowl on Sunday, some to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles, and others to catch Rihanna’s half-time performance. However, one viewer is in hot water for viewing the big game: FTX founder and alleged fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

A federal judge ordered Mr Bankman-Fried into court on Thursday, CNN reports, after it was revealed the former crypto billionaire used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) while serving out his pre-trial home confinement at his parents’ house in Palo Alto, California.

As Mr Bankman-Fried waited to face his charges of fraud and conspiracy, to which he has pleaded not guilty, the crypto magnate used a VPN, government prosecutors said in a filing on Monday, expressing their concerns.

“ VPN hides a user’s IP address by letting the private network redirect it though a remote server run by the VPN’s host,” they wrote in court documents. “That means that when a user engages in online activity with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of the data. In other words, the internet service provider or third parties (like the Government) cannot see which websites a user is visiting or what data is being sent and received online.”

“A VPN is a more secure and covert method of accessing the dark web,” they added.

On Tuesday, Mr Bankman-Fried’s legal team responded that their client had used the VPN on 29 January and 12 February to watch the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl.

“This use of a VPN does not implicate any of the concerns raised by the Government in its letter,” the attorneys wrote in a response document. “Nevertheless, in order to resolve the matter and as the Government notes, the defense is prepared to adopt a reasonable bail condition that allays any concerns of the Government or the Court about the use of a VPN. Our client will not use a VPN in the interim.”

Both parties have said they wish to take time to discuss Mr Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions as they relate to using a VPN.

Previously, Judge Lewis Kaplan has expressed concern over Mr Bankman-Fried’s text messages to a former colleague, exchanges that raised questions about whether the crypto executive was trying to make the colleague “sing out of the same hymn book.”

In December, the FTX founder was charged with an array of financial crimes and campaign donation violations, including including wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and campaign finance regulations.

The crypto magante is accused of diverting customer funds from FTX into his private hedge fund Alameda Research.