SBF housed with ex-Honduras president in jail, is trading mackerel and giving crypto tips SBF housed with ex-Honduras president in jail, is trading mackerel and giving crypto tips
Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly faring well in the Metropolitan Detention Center.
2 min read
Updated: Nov. 23, 2023 at 10:18 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The Wall Street Journal published an update on the prison living conditions of Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s co-founder and ex-CEO, on Nov. 23.
The newspaper said that Bankman-Fried has been placed in a dormitory with Juan Orlando Hernรกndez, a former Honduran president who is awaiting trial over acceptance of bribes from drug traffickers. Both appear to be on good terms: Hernรกndez’s lawyer said that the two inmates have held “cordial conversations.”
Also in the same unit is Genaro Garcรญa Luna, a former head of police in Mexico who was recently convicted of helping cartels smuggle cocaine into the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal added that Bankman-Fried’s difficulties in accessing vegetarian meals and ADHD medication in prison have been resolved.
It noted that Bankman-Fried is allowed to see non-attorney vistors once a week. He has also been granted access to a special laptop for the review of legal documents, though his computer use is restricted to a dedicated room with divider desks.
Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick, told the newspaper that the former FTX executive is doing the “best he can under the circumstances.โ
Bankman-Fried involved in prison economy
The Wall Street Journal additionally said that Bankman-Fried is trading mackerel packets with other inmates in exchange for services. He reportedly traded an unknown amount of mackerel for a haircut prior to his trial in November.
Mackerel packets โ which are individually worth about $1.30 โ became a de facto prison currency after federal smoking bans eliminated cigarettes as a viable alternative. (Incidentally, another former cryptocurrency convict, Charlie Shrem, has previously commented on the economics of prison mackerel trading.)
Bankman-Fried has also provided advice regarding cryptocurrency investment to guards, according one of the Wall Street Journal’s unnamed sources.
SBF will be moved after sentencing
Bankman-Fried is currently housed in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brookyln, which is notorious for its poor conditions. He will be transferred to a federal prison to serve his full sentence. There, he will likely receive greater freedom of movement, better educational and recreational resources, and company with less violent prison population, according to a prison consultant cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Bankman-Fried has been convicted, but has not yet been sentenced, for his role in FTX’s fraud. His sentencing is set for March 28, 2024 following a second trial that will handle charges of campaign finance fraud and bribery of Chinese officials.
Bankman-Fried’s current maximum sentence is 115 years in prison, though some experts have suggested he will be imprisoned for 25 years or less.
Mentioned in this article
Author 
Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
Latest US Stories
Featured Story
Advertise Here
In this article
FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.
Charles Shrem, born on November 25, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York, comes from a Syrian Jewish family.