Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to a low-security US federal correctional institution
Bankman-Fried was moved to the low-security Terminal Island federal correctional institution. Previously, he was located at the Victorville medium-security facility — a notoriously violent facility, according to prison consultant firm Elizabeth Franklin-Best.
Samuel Goldfaden, a partner at the crypto-centric lawfirm, DLT Law told Cointelegraph that while his previous facility was violent, BankmanFried was held in a safer part of the facility. He said:
“Sam Bankman-Fried spent most of his detention in the more secure dorm units of MDC Brooklyn, reportedly alongside other high-profile inmates such as Sean P. Diddy to ensure his safety.“
In “good” company
Terminal Island is located in San Pedro, California and also houses involved in financial crime. According to Franklin, notable inmates at the facility include ormer stockbroker Anthony Elgindy (wire fraud, racketeering, securities fraud and extortion) and internet music entrepreneur Mouli Cohen (wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion
New York ttorney Aaron Brogan told Cointelegraph that Bankman-Fried’s “non-violent record may well have been incorporated into a risk score” which led him to this low-security facility. His alleged autism, on the other hand, was unlikely to have had an influence despite layers playing it as a card:
“I’ve heard reports that describe Sam as autistic, but that is within a particular subclinical contemporary lens — autism can be a debilitating condition, but Sam graduated from MIT, founded multiple billion-dollar companies, and successfully defrauded millions of people.“
Goldfaden suggested a tie between Bankman-Fried’s interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, which was not approved by prison authorities and followed by solitary confinement. He highlighted that shortly after the interview,“was transferred, to improved conditions and moved closer to his family.
A win for the FTX co-founder
Brogan pointed out that lower security facilities are usually “nicer” and said that as a result he is less likely to become a victim of violent crime. will also likely have a “slightly easier” time communicating with his attorneys.
Still, Brogan said that those are suppositions that are likely to be true, but not guaranteed and the change may be negative for Bankman-Fried instead:
“It is hard to say from the outside, but generally one would expect lower security prisons to make such communication less challenging.“
The timeline of the FTX co-founder’s appeal will not be affected by the move, his pardon-seeking. The move also raises questions about the markedly different safety and rehabilitation environments that inmates guilty of non-violent offences find themselves in.
Still, Brogan said that such is “the nature of the United States prison system.” He highlighted that “the prison system treats all inmates unfairly, and almost nobody cares.” He :
“This is a punishment and the mass of people want it to be hard. There is some threshold of human decency, but nothing that has happened to Sam approaches that.“
