Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency trade FTX, has been transferred to a federal jail in Victorville, California, in line with up to date data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The transfer marks the most recent chapter in Bankman-Fried’s post-sentencing journey, following his 25-year jail time period for orchestrating probably the most vital monetary frauds in US historical past.
SBF Lands in ‘Victimville’ Jail
After being discovered responsible of misappropriating greater than $8 billion in buyer belongings, he had been held on the Metropolitan Detention Heart (MDC) in Brooklyn – an city holding facility identified for housing high-profile detainees – earlier than briefly transitioning by a federal transit heart in Oklahoma.
Now, Bankman-Fried finds himself at Victorville Medium II, one in every of two medium-security amenities within the small desert metropolis of Victorville, positioned northeast of Los Angeles. Jail consultants and former inmates have described the setting at Victorville as notably harsher than his earlier lodging.
Observers say that in contrast to MDC Brooklyn, the place inmates typically await trial or attraction, Victorville is a long-term facility characterised by entrenched inmate hierarchies and frequent violence. Consultants have warned that West Coast federal prisons typically carry extra inflexible social constructions and elevated dangers, with some amenities dominated by gang affiliations and casual “vehicles” – inmate teams fashioned alongside racial or geographic strains.
Victorville has reportedly earned the nickname “Victimville” in on-line inmate communities, reflecting perceptions of great hazard and required group allegiances. A 2014 report by the D.C. Corrections Data Council cited incidents of gang violence and even deadly assaults on the jail.
Whereas the BOP has not confirmed whether or not Victorville will probably be Bankman-Fried’s everlasting placement, the character of the power and his standing as a sentenced inmate counsel this can be his long-term location. The sentencing decide had beforehand advisable a California placement to situate him nearer to his dad and mom, who dwell within the Bay Space.
Nonetheless, Bankman-Fried’s authorized workforce had advocated for him to stay in Brooklyn as they pursued an attraction.
SBF’s Shock Jailhouse Interview
Final month, Bankman-Fried gave a shock jail interview with Tucker Carlson which triggered the resignation of his longtime PR consultant Mark Botnick. The unauthorized transfer mirrored SBF’s rising unpredictability in addition to a strategic political pivot.
As soon as a serious Democratic donor, he has vocally criticized former President Biden and eyeing Donald Trump for a possible pardon. Throughout the interview, he denied prison intent.
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