Original author -James Fanelli & Corinne Ramey
Compile - Odaily 0xAyA
Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud in the FTX debacle, and now he continues to trade – but not with cryptocurrencies, but with mackerel fillets.
The former cryptocurrency tycoon is currently contemplating life in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Jail, awaiting sentencing on seven felony charges. SBF learned the fundamentals of prison economics while sharing dormitories with a former Honduran president awaiting criminal trial and a recently convicted former top Mexican minister, according to people familiar with the matter.
After banning cigarettes,Mackerel has replaced cigarettes as the popular currency in federal prisons, where inmates sometimes pay for each others services with mackerel purchased at the commissary.According to a source familiar with the matter, SBF once traded packets of mackerel for a fellow inmate to groom his trademark fish for him before his trial."Afro"。
The FTX founder has been in jail since August, when a federal judge revoked his bail after finding there was a possibility he attempted to coerce witnesses, a charge the SBF denies. A jury took just a few hours to convict him earlier this month on charges that he stole billions of dollars from FTXs clients and defrauded investors and lenders. SBFs sentencing will be announced on March 28, after which he will be transferred to a federal prison to serve his sentence.
The Brooklyn jail is a far cry from the $30 million duplex in the Bahamas that SBF once called home.
He is allowed to receive weekly non-lawyer visitors and has access to a dedicated laptop to review legal materials, according to people familiar with the matter. The whistleblower said he and other prisoners had access to computers in a room with desks separated by plastic partitions. While the days of SBF investing in billions of dollars in startups and trading crypto tokens are behind him, he has allegedly been advising prison guards on cryptocurrencies.
A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said that for privacy and security reasons, the bureau cannot comment on the situation of any individual in its custody. He said the department will make every effort to ensure the safety of inmates while providing a safe and humane environment.
Sam is doing the best he can under the circumstances, said SBF spokesman Mark Botnick.
At trial, SBF testified that while he regretted not practicing better risk management on crypto exchanges, he did not commit fraud.His lawyers said the SBF plans to appeal the verdict, which could lead to decades in prison.
Once SBF is transferred to a federal prison to serve his sentence, he will likely have more freedom of movement, in addition to better access to educational programs and recreational activities, prison consultant Bill Baroni said. Baroni is an attorney who was convicted of his role in the New Jersey Bridgegate scandal, in which aides to former Gov. Chris Christie were accused of creating traffic jams out of political revenge.
Baroni said:"His life will get better when he is sentenced,He will no longer hang out with the most violent people。”
Other white-collar prisoners serve their sentences in prisons closer to home or that offer more activities. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors in her blood-testing company, is being held at the minimum-security womens prison in Bryan, Texas, between Austin and Houston.
The Brooklyn jail has been criticized for years by defense attorneys and prison guard unions for poor conditions and severe staffing shortages. A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said maintaining adequate staffing is the bureaus top priority.
SBF cellmates include Genaro García Luna, Mexicos former public security minister who was convicted earlier this year of helping Mexicos Sinaloa drug cartel smuggle more than 50 tons of cocaine into the United States, and García Luna is awaiting sentencing, according to people familiar with the matter.
Another inmate in his cell is former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges. Hernández claimed innocence after being extradited to the United States in 2022.
Hernándezs defense attorney, Raymond Colon, said his client and the SBF had cordial exchanges inside the jail. Colon said staffing shortages may lead to canceled visiting hours, but Hernández generally doesnt complain about prison conditions.
“This is certainly not a hotel,” Colon said.
A lawyer for SBF said during the court hearing in late August that SBF initially lived on peanut butter, bread and water because the prison did not provide him with a vegan diet that met his requirements, and it was difficult for him to get an appropriate dose of Adderall. For the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
According to sources familiar with the matter, SBFs access to food and medication has been resolved and he is able to obtain a vegetarian diet in prison.
Prison inmates are often confined to their cells and cannot move freely around the facility. Christine Dynan, a prison consultant who has worked at the center and other federal facilities, said that inmates do not eat in a communal cafeteria as in some prisons, but rather have meals delivered to individual cells.
Many inmates prefer to purchase food, clothing, and toiletries through the Brooklyn Jail commissary. A store listing showed peanut butter on sale for $4.15, a pair of sneakers for $79.95, an MP3 player for $88.40 and a pack of mackerel fillets for $1.30. The value of $1 has increased by 30% in 2018.
Baroni said he likely took his mackerel fillets with him when SBF was transferred to federal prison, where he paid for a haircut totaling four packages of mackerel.
“The Mackerel Filet currency system is much more stable than cryptocurrencies,” Baroni said.
