Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried is no longer imprisoned in New York or California, where his parents have a home — according to prison records, he is in Oklahoma.
As of May 23, Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate records showed Bankman-Fried was being held at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General, the facility houses “short-term” inmates for transfer into the prison system.
SBF’s move to Oklahoma, coupled with reports released on May 22, indicate that authorities may transfer the former FTX CEO from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Mendota. The transfer appears to have occurred even though Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recommended that SBF remain at MDC Brooklyn.
Bankman-Fried has been housed in New York since a judge revoked his bail in August 2023, and after his sentencing hearing in March 2024, he asked to remain at MDC Brooklyn “to facilitate access to his appellate lawyer.” A jury convicted the former FTX CEO of seven counts in November 2023, and Judge Kaplan subsequently sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
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In a letter filed with the court on May 22, Judge Kaplan requested that Bankman-Fried remain in New York “until his appeal is fully reviewed in order to facilitate access to appellate counsel.”
At press time, it was unclear how long Bankman-Fried would remain held at the Oklahoma facility. If transferred to FCI Mendota, the former FTX CEO will remain close to his parents’ home in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, the Oklahoma facility, located near Will Rogers World Airport, houses 1,414 inmates.
Bankman-Fried was the only person linked to the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research to plead not guilty and be convicted for his role in defrauding customers. Former FTX and Alameda executives Ryan Salama, Carolyn Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh have all pleaded guilty and accepted plea deals with authorities. Salama’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 28.
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