FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried isn’t killing time with Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York anymore.
Following a behind-bars look on the “The Tucker Carlson Present” earlier this month, the one-time crypto wunderkind has been shipped to Oklahoma.
Bankman-Fried is at present being held at FTC Oklahoma Metropolis, a switch heart with round 1,450 inmates, in accordance with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Days in the past, he was at Metropolitan Detention Heart (MDC) in Brooklyn, the place the previous hip-hop mogul awaits trial. It’s possible the penultimate cease for SBF earlier than he lands in a jail the place he’ll serve the remainder of his 25-year sentence for defrauding customers of the trade he co-founded.
As an alternative of taking a protracted bus experience, usually described by inmates as “diesel remedy,” Bankman-Fried possible hitched a experience by way of “Con Air,” in accordance with Sam Mangel, a white-collar jail guide.
“You’re shackled on an airplane,” Mangel informed Decrypt. “It’s a normally very outdated [McDonnell Douglas] DC-9 that has no facilities in any way.”
The disgraced 33-year-old, who celebrated his birthday across the time of his unsanctioned jailhouse interview, was awoken round 3 a.m. Jap Time earlier than saying goodbye to MDC, The Wall Avenue Journal first reported, citing an individual acquainted with the matter.
For Bankman-Fried, the ability’s “barrack-style” dwelling area for high-profile inmates had been house since August 2023, when his bail was revoked over witness tampering issues.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced after a Manhattan jury discovered him responsible on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. To today, he maintains his innocence, not too long ago saying, “I don’t assume I’m a felony,” as he works towards interesting his conviction.
Bankman-Fried’s trial uncovered a sweeping fraud scheme at FTX, which concerned secretly siphoning billions of {dollars} in buyer funds to finance dangerous investments, donate to U.S. politicians, and buy luxurious actual property within the Bahamas—the place the agency was primarily based.
It’s unlikely that Bankman-Fried shall be held in Oklahoma for lengthy, Mangel mentioned. Many of the guide’s purchasers are held there for lower than two weeks earlier than being despatched elsewhere.
Bankman-Fried not too long ago broke his silence on X, previously referred to as Twitter. Final month, he mused in regards to the issue of firing staff and company administration.
Bankman-Fried’s authorized workforce has pushed him to serve out his sentence nearer to his dad and mom’ house close to Stanford College in California, per The Wall Avenue Journal.
Bankman-Fried will possible find yourself in a minimal-security facility, presumably in Lompoc, California, Mangel mentioned. Final Might, he was informed he was heading to jail in Mendota, California, in accordance with a separate report from The Wall Avenue Journal.
Although his dad and mom are reportedly pursuing a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump, Bankman-Fried’s title nonetheless serves as a wedge on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren hurled it towards Paul Atkins, Trump’s decide to guide the Securities and Change Fee, through the former commissioner’s affirmation listening to.
“Mr. Atkins has spent nearly his complete profession serving to billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried, who dedicated one of many largest monetary frauds in U.S. historical past,” she mentioned, referring to work achieved beforehand by Atkins’ consultancy agency.
Edited by James Rubin
Every day Debrief Publication
Begin every single day with the highest information tales proper now, plus authentic options, a podcast, movies and extra.