U.S. officials returned former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn after a short stay at a transfer center in Oklahoma.
As of June 4, Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate records showed Bankman-Fried being held at MDC Brooklyn after about a week at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. Many have speculated that authorities intended to transfer the former FTX CEO to a San Francisco Bay Area prison near his parents’ home in California.
It is unclear what exactly led to SBF’s return to New York. His lawyers requested that the former FTX CEO remain at MDC Brooklyn to help him appeal his conviction and sentence. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — who oversaw SBF’s criminal trial and sentencing — also recommended that he remain in the state.
In November 2023, a jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of seven counts of misusing client funds at FTX and Alameda Research. In March, Judge Kaplan sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison. Pinkman-Fried’s legal team filed a notice of appeal on April 11. At the time of publication, no document was on the court docket indicating the grounds on which the SBF intends to appeal.
Bankman-Fried was one of the only people connected to the collapse of FTX and Alameda to plead not guilty and face the jury. On May 28, Judge Kaplan sentenced Ryan Salama, former co-CEO of Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, to 90 months in prison. Other former executives involved in the stock market crash – Carolyn Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh – have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Immediately after the sentencing hearing, Salama posted on the social media platform In contrast, Bankman-Fried has not posted on X since January 2023 and rarely spoke to the media during his trial.
about: Biden Vetoes House, Senate Votes on SEC Anti-Cryptocurrency Resolution: Decryption Act
After being sentenced to four months in prison for violating US money laundering laws, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California. Zhao suggested he planned to “write something” during his imprisonment, which is expected to end by October 2024.
Alex Mashinsky will be the next prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry to face criminal charges after SBF and Zhao. The criminal trial of the former CEO of Celis will begin in January 2025.
review: “Less glamorous” Mashinsky will serve less prison time SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame
