--- title: "Sam Bankman-Fried Heads to Squalid Jail" description: "Former crypto CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is officially heading to a Brooklyn jail to await trial after being accused of tampering with witnesses." date: "2023-08-14" modified: "2023-08-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sam-bankman-fried-heads-to-squalid-jail" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "ftx" - "sam bankman-fried" - "the digest" --- # Sam Bankman-Fried Heads to Squalid Jail ![Former crypto CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is officially heading to a Brooklyn jail to await trial after being accused of tampering with witnesses.]() *\Image: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images\* ## Straight to Jail Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is officially heading to a Brooklyn jail to await his fraud trial, [*Reuters* reports](), after a Manhattan US district judge ruled he tampered with witnesses while on $250 million bail at his parents' mansion in Palo Alto, California. That means that in just nine months, the disgraced crypto baron has gone from living in a [lavish luxury villa]() in the Bahamas to being locked inside a notorious NYC jail that's been called out for its "inhumane" conditions. Ouch. ## Wake-Up Call Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty after being charged with fraud following the [spectacular collapse]() of his crypto exchange empire late last year. The [subsequent revelations]() surrounding the firm's less-than-stellar track record of [keeping track]() of billions of dollars worth of investments have likely only strengthened his prosecutors' case. The clink might be a wake-up call for Bankman-Fried. Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, for instance, [filed more than 100 complaints]() over how she was treated at the same jail, Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, from invasive shower surveillance to excessive body cavity searches. In filings, Maxwell's lawyers compared conditions to the ones faced by Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 horror movie "The Silence of the Lambs," according to *Reuters*. In short, Bankman-Fried just got a whole lot more than a slap on the wrist, despite posting bail for a [staggering quarter of a billion dollars]() in February. It looks like he'll be at the facility for the next 50 days or so, at which point his fraud trial will kick off. It could even be a preview of things to come; he's facing life behind bars if convicted. **More on Bankman-Fried:** [*FTX Considered Buying an Island to Conduct Human Genetic Experimentation*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()