SBF’s lawyers unable to tap his parents’ phones to meet bail conditions

The new cell phones purchased for Bankman-Fried’s parents cannot “automatically photograph the device’s users every five minutes as required by the Order,” according to a recent court filing.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team has requested a third extension on the enforcement of his revised bail conditions, citing difficulties in installing monitoring software on his parents’ cell phones, which must capture a photo of the user “every five minutes.”

In an April 19 court filing in the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, stated that they had successfully implemented “all of the bail conditions set forth in the Order,” with the exception of monitoring the usage of Bankman-Fried’s parents’ cell phones. It was noted:

“We learned recently that the monitoring software installed on the new cellphones we purchased for Mr Bankman-Fried’s parents cannot, in fact, automatically photograph the device’s user every five minutes as required by the Order.”

Cohen and Everdell stated they were “optimistic” they had found a solution to monitor the cell phones but needed the extra time to “conduct further tests on the monitoring software to confirm its capabilities.”

The legal team requested until April 21 to find a solution; however, at the time of writing, there has been no evidence to suggest one has been found.

In the meantime, the lawyers requested that Bankman-Fried’s parents be allowed to continue using “their existing cellphones” until a resolution is reached.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers request extension for bail condition proposal

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Ken Gamble, executive chairman of private intelligence firm IFW Global, said he believes there is a conflict between the choice of phone model and the monitoring software being implemented.

He noted that certain newer phone models are unable to “install the latest monitoring software” due to inherent security measures on the devices.

Gamble emphasized that the latest iPhones, for example, cannot have monitoring software implemented without actually “jailbreaking the device” first.

He suggested the solution may involve exploring alternative cell phones for Bankman-Fried’s parents that are compatible with the installation of the monitoring software, stating:

“This will take time. They have to get to the root of the technical issue, find the solution and potentially even make another application to the court for more time while they find the preferred phone.”

There have recently been significant concerns raised over Bankman-Fried’s access to cell phones.

Judge Kaplan highlighted that Bankman-Fried had a “garden of electronic devices” with access to the internet at his parents’ home.

The judge warned that there was “probable cause” to believe that Bankman-Fried was involved in attempted witness tampering.

It was reported on March 28 that Bankman-Fried’s parents consented to limit his access to their devices while also signing affidavits agreeing not to bring prohibited electronic devices into their home.

Kaplan previously proposed on March 4, that Bankman-Fried be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers, and any video game platforms or devices that allow chat and voice communication.

The proposal said that Bankman-Fried’s communication should be limited to a “flip phone or other non-smartphone with either no internet capabilities or internet capabilities disabled.”

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