Sam Bankman-Fried detained at notorious New York correctional facility Sam Bankman-Fried detained at notorious New York correctional facility
The Metropolitan Detention Center, which has held several high-security inmates within its walls and is renowned for its poor conditions, will be Mr. Bankman-Fried's home until his trial in October.
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Updated: Aug. 14, 2023 at 9:38 pm UTC
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According to federal inmate records, FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is being held at one of New York’s most notorious prisons.
Those records show that the former executive is detained at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, a holding facility infamous for poor conditions. Various reports indicate that the facility suffers from staffing shortages, corruption among staff, power outages, cockroach and rodent infestations, poor food, and malfunctioning toilets.
MDC Brooklyn has held numerous high-profile and celebrity inmates, including Ghislane Maxell, Martin Shkreli, and R. Kelly. The prison also currently holds Guo Wengui (Miles Guo), a Donald Trump-connected Chinese businessman who is awaiting a trial for charges that are in part related to cryptocurrency fraud.
SBF’s bail was revoked last week
Courts revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail on Aug. 11 in response to allegations of witness tampering from the prosecutors, who cited Bankman-Fried’s leaking of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s private writings to the New York Times in July.
During that hearing, a prosecutor suggested that Bankman-Fried be held at the medium-security Putnam County Correctional Facility. The prosecutor asked for Bankman-Fried to be held at that location because it would provide him with internet access and allow him to review case evidence before his trial.
Bankman-Fried has not been detained in the requested facility, and it is unclear whether he will have internet access at MDC Brooklyn over the coming weeks.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers are currently negotiating the terms of his detention in other regards. Filings from Aug. 14 indicate that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have asked the prison to provide him with access to medication and that this request has been granted. Though access to medication is standard, other prisoners have complained that MDC Brooklyn has failed to comply with such orders in a timely manner.
Records list Bankman-Fried’s release date as “unknown.” The exact duration of his prison stay depends on the outcome of his October trial and on whether his lawyers attempt to challenge his current detention in court before the trial date.
Bankman-Fried was previously expected to be transferred to MDC Brooklyn in December 2022 following his extradition from The Bahamas. However, he was awarded bail upon arriving in the United States and put under house arrest instead.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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Jacob Oliver
Jacob Oliver is a recovering academic and English teacher turned crypto journalist and web3 writer. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
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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.