YouTuber Tiffany Fong interviewed Sam Bankman-Fried’s cellmate. Bankman-Fried, the former head of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was jailed at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) after violating the terms of his house arrest. There, he ended up sharing a cell with a man named Gene Borrello, a former gangster who was allowed to leave prison in exchange for providing valuable information about his gang.
Judging by Borrello’s words, Sam’s future prospects in prison are not good. He was described as a shy man with poor health.
After his fraud trial, a jury found him guilty on all seven charges. Sentencing is scheduled for March 28, 2024, and Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison.
Bankman-Fried’s maximum sentence is 115 years, but it is unlikely he will receive that long a sentence. But since he himself had never been in trouble with the law before, he deserved a reduced sentence.
At the same time, the FTX and Alameda Research ventures lost billions of dollars to investors, which is an incredibly large sum. Therefore, experts are effectively predicting a prison sentence of several decades.
How are the prisoners treating former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried?
Borrello spent time with Bankman-Fried before the court hearing. It was enough for the ex-convict to conclude that Bankman-Fried would have a very hard time in prison. One of the reasons is that his physical health is not the best. Here’s what Borrello said:
“I have the body of an 80-year-old man. “There’s no format, right?”
But he discovered something while in prison. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bankman-Fried began selling fish in prison. Mackerel is a major barter tool and the most popular commodity in U.S. prisons since the introduction of the tobacco product ban.
As the source noted, at the aforementioned MDC prison in Brooklyn, a pack of mackerel costs $1.30. Sam also used a four-pack of this product to cut his hair before a court hearing.
The former FTX boss never looked like an athlete. He also requires ongoing special medication to deal with his mental health issues. Additionally, Bankman-Fried follows a vegan diet, which is extremely difficult to achieve behind bars.
News of Sam’s arrival at MDC spread quickly among the prisoners. Everyone realized the billionaire had money. Some of them began demanding money from Bankman-Fried, Borello says. Another inmate wanted Bankman-Fried to feel threatened and asked for protection.
Read more: FTX collapse explained: How did Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire fall?
Advice from a fellow inmate
But Borrello defended Bankman-Fried and advised him not to rob anyone in prison. Jail records show Borello got into a fight with another inmate, Kevin Cruz, and both were placed in solitary confinement as punishment.
Borrello’s advice was indeed sound. In fact, Bankman-Fried was placed in a separate prison with special conditions and a distinguished audience. Mainly wealthy prisoners, informants, former government officials, and other “harmless” categories of people were imprisoned there.
But even in such a special unit, Bankman-Fried did not feel very comfortable. The statement for this is as follows:
“Sam talks with his head down, is shy and often nervous.”
Bankman-Fried didn’t fully realize what his problem was when he arrived at the prison. According to Borrello, Bankman-Fried believed he would be released.
“We looked at him like he was crazy. “I tried to explain that he might never be released.”
Another problem for Bankman-Fried is the judge handling his case, Lewis Kaplan. He is also known as ‘the toughest man in the South.’
A jury has already found Bankman-Fried guilty on all counts. But analysts believe Kaplan could give him a much longer sentence than the previously estimated maximum of 115 years in prison.
When prisoners asked him about his life, the former billionaire said he drove a 2020 Toyota Camry and wore an Apple Watch. Borrello recalls that it was a real surprise to his cellmates.
“My friends and I were like, ‘Then why on earth did you steal the money? To see them?”
Borrello believes the overly harsh punishment for Bankman-Fried is “completely absurd” because the former FTX CEO does not deserve hundreds of years in prison. Still, he argues, Sam shouldn’t expect leniency, as many prosecutors and lawyers want to make a career out of high-profile cases.
Prison sentence for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao?
In any case, he is not as lucky as former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Zhao is not permitted to leave the United States until he is sentenced on February 23, 2024, but he was released on $175 million bail.
Additionally, Zhao could face up to one year and six months in prison, although prosecutors recently discussed extending the sentence to 10 years.
This prison sentence is expected to be a huge blow to Sam Bankman-Fried. But the FTX co-founder’s situation is unlikely to improve. At the end of March, the judge is expected to announce his sentence for the former entrepreneur, which will likely not be very lenient.
Read more: Binance Review 2024: Is It the Right Crypto Exchange for You?
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