When we spoke with former O.C. actor and current journalist crypto skeptic Ben McKenzie, he told us, essentially, that crypto bros aren’t as funny as they think they are. And while that might be true, FTX founder and accused fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried getting un-freed until at least October ahead of his trial qualifies as pretty funny, even if his actual actions are no laughing matter… well, okay, reportedly enraging a judge for accessing a VPN under the pretense of trying to stream the Super Bowl is legit hilarious. Being accused of witness tampering by way of leaking documents about your former girlfriend (who also ran your hedge fund)? Extremely not hilarious.
As you may recall if you’re paying attention to the ins and outs of this case and not just waiting for the inevitable dueling docuseries and limited series to catch up, Bankman-Fried was out on a quarter-billion dollars bail and on house arrest after being arrested in December. That arrangement included giving up his passport and submitting to have big expenses (anything north of 1K) subject to court approval. His parents also had skin in the game, leveraging their home so that their very special boy could keep breathing free air and eating Lunchables.
One would think with those limitations and stakes that Sam would stay out of trouble. But the fantastical way some of this era’s WWE-style rich folk villains — pre-packaged for the pop culture spotlight with their weird hair (ALWAYS) and immense appetites for power, money, and screwing around when trouble circles them always seems to make this kind of moment possible. And just a little sweeter when the great bug zapper of justice actually catches one, turning a fake money fail boy into the dictionary definition of judicial f*cked around and found out. Anyway, buzz buzz, Sam, hope you weren’t planning on watching NFL Sunday Ticket for kickoff season. Or at any point in the future.
Source: The Daily Beast