An imprisoned crypto fraudster, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), may shave 4 years off his 25-year prison sentence for good behaviour. The American prison system has a process for reducing a sentence if an inmate displays good behaviour. A jury convicted SBF of 7 counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Prosecutors successfully argued that SBF and his colleagues funneled customers’ funds from the FTX exchange to Alameda Research, a hedge fund owned by SBF. However, the convicted fraudster may be able to spend considerably less time behind bars if he continues to display good behaviour. The funneling scheme, which was responsible for his conviction, was worth $11 billion of customers’ funds.
When searched on their website, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reveals a reduced sentence for SBF. The database was most likely updated to reflect SBF’s good behaviour. American prisoners can receive up to 54 days a year in credit for good behaviour. These credits can reduce the prison sentence for inmates serving over 1 year. It seems that the prison may have given SBF the maximum amount of reward points. This comes not long after SBF was reprimanded for breaking prison rules by participating in a Tucker Carlson interview.
In November 2023, a jury convicted SBF of 7 counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering for using customers’ funds to build his hedge fund company. The court found that SBF used $11 billion of customers’ funds to make money on his hedge fund. In March 2024, the court sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison and ordered him to forfeit $11 billion in funds. The courts also sentenced SBF’s colleague, Caroline Ellison, but gave her a lighter sentence for cooperating with authorities. On March 6, Tucker Carlson interviewed SBF at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York. This unsanctioned interview probably convinced authorities to move SBF to the FCI Terminal Island prison in San Pedro, California.
When held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre, SBF was a roommate with Sean Diddy Combs. Tucker Carlson interviewed SBF in this prison. However, SBF did not appear apologetic for misappropriating customers’ funds; instead, he spent considerable time aligning himself with the Trump campaign, most likely lobbying for a presidential pardon. SBF was then transported to a new prison in California, which holds 850 low-security male prisoners. SBF was most likely moved because he broke prison rules by participating in the Tucker Carlson interview. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, SBF’s parents, have been lobbying hard to get a pardon for their son. They have been talking with various lawyers and Trump officials to secure a presidential pardon.
Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried believe they can help their son receive a presidential pardon if they contact the right people connected to the Trump campaign. They have contacted a lawyer named Kory Langhofer to help push their demands to people associated with Trump’s inner circle. Langhofer was a lawyer who worked for Trump’s campaign 2016 and 2020. Langhofer believes that SBF was unfairly tried and should receive a presidential pardon.
