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1 year ago
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Sam Bankman-Fried is being forced to trade $1 dried mackerel for haircuts in jail as he awaits sentencing for his $10 billion FTX fraud.
The fallen crypto king is adapting to life at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center and getting to grips with the prison's top currency.
He is being held at the center pending his sentencing for seven felony fraud offenses following the spectacular crash of his crypto trading platform.
Among his cellmates are an ex-Honduran president awaiting criminal trial and a top police officer from Mexico, a source told the Wall Street Journal.
He has also quickly learned that dried mackerel packets, known as macks, are the most desirable commissary item.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is trading $1 mackerel packets for hair cuts at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center
The failed crypto boss is being held at the New York facility pending his sentencing for the $10 billion fraud
Bankman-Fried has also allegedly been giving crypto trading tips to prison guards, despite being responsible for the collapse of FTX by looting billions from its customers
They replaced cigarettes as the top currency behind bars after smoking was banned.
The packs are often traded in exchange for services, with Bankman-Fried handing over several of his packs in return for a hair cut ahead of his next court date, the source confirmed.
And while he is no longer trading himself, he has been given crypto tips to prison guards, according to others with information on his circumstances.
The disgraced billionaire was convicted of all seven felony counts against him on November 2 after a monthlong trial in which prosecutors made the case that he looted billions from FTX users out of sheer greed.
The verdict came just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and erased his estimated $26 billion personal fortune.
A Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman said the bureau couldn't comment on the conditions for any individual in its custody for privacy and security reasons.
'The bureau makes every effort to ensure the safety of inmates while providing a secure and humane environment,' he said.
'Sam's doing the best he can under the circumstances,' Bankman-Fried's spokesman, Mark Botnick, said.
Bankman-Fried is being held at the Brooklyn center ahead of his sentencing on March 28 next year. The notorious prison has also housed Ghislaine Maxwell who complained about poor conditions
Mackerel packs have replaced cigarettes as the top currency in jail since smoking was banned
Bankman-Fried has been incarcerated since August, after a judge revoked his $250 million bond claiming there was probable cause to suspect the crypto trader had been trying to intimidate witnesses.
His stunning fall from grace means he has traded in a $30 million home in the Bahamas for the detention center, which has notoriously poor conditions.
Inmates ranging from convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to Honduras' former president have complained of subpar conditions.
The 31-year-old is allowed non-attorney visitors once a week and has access to a specialized laptop that allows him to view legal material, the Wall Street Journal reports.
He and other inmates are permitted to use computers in a room with separated desks, according to their source.
Bankman-Fried will be sentenced on March 28 next year and faces decades behind bars.
Prison consultants Christopher Zoukis surmised that he will most likely be sent to a low or medium-security federal facility.
'Considering Sam Bankman-Fried’s likely Palto Alto, California, release residence with his parents, he will likely be housed in a federal prison in the Northwestern United States. At least, this is what Bureau policy would suggest,' he said.
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