SBF gradually integrates into prison life providing cryptocurrency investment advice to prison guards, meeting the demand for medicine and food

SBF Smoothly Assimilates into Prison Culture, Offering Cryptocurrency Investment Guidance to Guards and Filling the Need for Medications and Food

Author: James Fanelli & Corinne Ramey

Translation: 0xAyA, Odaily Planet Daily

Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto tycoon who is currently incarcerated in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, is now trading, but not with cryptocurrencies, rather with tuna packets.

The former crypto billionaire is currently contemplating life in jail, awaiting the verdict on seven felony charges. According to sources, while sharing a dorm with a former president of Honduras awaiting criminal trial and a recently convicted former senior minister of Mexico, SBF has learned the basic principles of prison economics.

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Since the ban on cigarettes, tuna has replaced them as the preferred currency in federal prisons, with inmates sometimes using tuna purchased from the commissary to pay for services rendered. According to a source, SBF managed to obtain a fellow inmate’s signature “explosive” hairstyle in exchange for several packets of tuna before his trial.

The FTX founder has been in jail since August, when a federal judge revoked his bail citing potential witness tampering, a charge that SBF denies. Earlier this month, it took a jury just a few hours to convict him, accusing him of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers and deceiving investors and lenders. SBF’s sentencing will be announced on March 28, after which he will be transferred to a federal prison to serve his term.

The Brooklyn jail is a far cry from the $30 million Bahamas penthouse that SBF once called home.

According to sources, he is allowed weekly visits from non-lawyer visitors and has access to a dedicated laptop for reviewing legal materials. The source claims that he and other inmates can use the computer in a room with desks separated by plastic dividers. It is said that while the days of SBF investing billions in startups and trading crypto tokens are long gone, he continues to offer cryptocurrency advice to the guards.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons stated that they cannot comment on the circumstances of any individual under their supervision due to privacy and security reasons. The spokesperson mentioned that the bureau strives to ensure the safety of prisoners while providing a secure and humane environment.

SBF’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick, said, “Sam is doing his best in the current situation.”

In the trial, SBF testified that although he regrets not implementing better risk management for the cryptocurrency exchange, he did not engage in fraudulent behavior. His lawyer stated that SBF plans to appeal the judgment, which could result in decades of imprisonment.

Prison consultant Bill Baroni said that once SBF is transferred to federal prison, he may have more freedom of movement and better access to educational programs and recreational activities. Baroni, a lawyer himself, was convicted for his involvement in the New Jersey Bridgegate scandal, where former Governor Chris Christie’s aides were accused of causing traffic jams for political retaliation.

Baroni stated, “When he is sentenced, his quality of life will improve, and he will no longer be with the most violent individuals.”

Other white-collar inmates serve their sentences in prisons that are closer to home or offer more activities. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, convicted of defrauding investors in her blood testing company, is currently incarcerated in the minimum-security women’s prison in Bryan, Texas, located between Austin and Houston.

The Brooklyn prison has been criticized by defense lawyers and prison guards’ unions for its poor conditions and severe understaffing. A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons stated that maintaining adequate staffing levels is the agency’s top priority.

According to insiders, SBF’s cellmate includes former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna, who was convicted earlier this year for assisting the Sinaloa drug cartel in smuggling over 50 tons of cocaine into the United States. García Luna is currently awaiting sentencing.

Another inmate in the same cell is former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges. Hernández has maintained his innocence since being extradited to the United States in 2022.

Hernández’s defense lawyer, Raymond Colon, stated that his client and SBF have had friendly exchanges in prison. Colon noted that the staffing shortage might result in canceled visitation times, but Hernández typically does not complain about the prison conditions.

“This certainly isn’t a hotel,” Colon said.

One of SBF’s lawyers stated during the trial in late August that SBF initially relied on peanut butter, bread, and water to get by because the prison did not provide a vegan diet that met his requirements, and it was also difficult for him to obtain the appropriate dosage of Adderall for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

According to sources, SBF’s food and medicine acquisition problem has been resolved, and he is able to obtain vegetarian food in prison.

Prisoners in the prison are typically confined to their own cells and are not free to move about the facility. Christine Dynan, a prison consultant who has worked at the facility and other federal institutions, said that inmates do not dine in a public cafeteria like some prisons, but rather have meals delivered to their individual cells.

Many prisoners prefer to purchase food, clothing, and toiletries from the Brooklyn prison’s commissary. A list of store items shows that peanut butter is priced at $4.15, a pair of sneakers is priced at $79.95, an MP3 player is priced at $88.40, and a packet of tuna is priced at $1.30, a 30% increase from 2020 when it was $1.

Baroni said that when SBF is transferred to federal prison, he might bring his own packet of tuna, and SBF paid for four packets of tuna as a haircut fee in prison.

“The tuna packet currency system is much more stable than cryptocurrency,” Baroni said.

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