--- title: "Sam Bankman-Fried Complains Jail Is Serving Him “Flesh Meals”" description: "Sam Bankman-Fried is apparently having a really bad time in jail because they won't give him proper food or medication." date: "2023-08-23" modified: "2023-08-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sbf-bread-water-jail" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "criminal justice" - "sam bankman-fried" - "sbf" - "the digest" --- # Sam Bankman-Fried Complains Jail Is Serving Him “Flesh Meals” ![Sam Bankman-Fried is apparently having a really bad time in jail because they won't give him proper food or medication.]() *NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 11: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives for a bail hearing at Manhattan Federal Court on August 11, 2023 in New York City. Federal prosecutors are asking U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan to revoke Bankman-Fried's bail and to be jailed until his October criminal trial. Bankman-Fried who has pleaded not guilty to multiple conspiracy and fraud charges was accused of witness tampering after the New York Times published a story featuring personal documents of Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research CEO. Judge Kaplan will also hear arguments on the gag order placed on Bankman-Fried that was placed as part of his bail agreement for the alleged witness tampering. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) \Image: Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images\* ## Animal Instinct Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried is apparently having a bad time in jail because, as his lawyers said in court this week, he's getting neither his meat substitutes nor his Adderall. As [*CNBC* reports](), SBF's attorneys are mighty mad that the disgraced crypto scion is being treated like any other inmate at [Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center](), which four-and-a-half years ago made headlines for [leaving its prisoners to freeze]() in unheated cells during record low temperatures. According to the FTX founder's lawyers, Bankman-Fried — a [known vegan]() — is "subsisting on bread and water" and "sometimes peanut butter" because the jail keeps offering him only "flesh meals." He's also not been given his Adderall prescription regularly, SBF's lawyers alleged. After being remanded to jail earlier this month for [allegedly tampering with a former lover slash witness]() by l[eaking her private documents]() to the *New York Times*, a judge ordered the Metropolitan Detention Center to [give him his ADHD medication](), though given that there's a [nationwide Adderall shortage](), the correctional authorities might be having some difficulties coughing up. ## Criminal Conditions While it's indeed egregious that the onetime crypto wunderkind is being forced to go without proper food or medication, it's telling that outlets like the [*New York Post* are suddenly concerned]() about the way inmates are treated ,now when it's increasingly well-known that people in jail have to contend with [grossly inhumane conditions]() and [human rights abuses]() as they await trial. It's undeniably wrong that SBF is having to go without while incarcerated — just as it's not right for anyone to have to live in the horrific conditions of jailhouses and prisons. **More on SBF:** *[It Sounds Like Caroline Ellison Has Some Major Dirt on Sam Bankman-Fried]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()