FTX Founder Sent to Prison

The co-founder and former CEO at failed crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), was taken into custody by Bahamian authorities. According to recent reports, SBF was taken to one of the worst prisons in the world, called Fox Hill. 

The correctional facility has a reputation for its lack of hygiene, high risk of contracting diseases, rodent infestations, violence, and more. The former FTX CEO was arrested for his alleged participation in the downfall of his company. Customers lose billions in deposits.

Sam Bankman-Fried could face up to 115 years in prison if he’s convicted on all eight charges filed by the Department of Justice on Tuesday. (Bloomberg)

— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) December 14, 2022 

FTX Founder Could Spend Life In Top Five Worst Prisons Worldwide

Bitcoinist reported that SBF was presented in front of a Bahamas court yesterday. The former FTX CEO was accused of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, and one count of money laundering. 

In total, Bankman-Fried could be sentenced to over 100 years in prison if found guilty. The crypto exchange founder is awaiting extradition to the United States. He will spend the entirety of this process in the Fox Hill prison after a local judge denied bail. 

In addition to the problems mentioned above, Fox Hill is infamous for mixing its inmate population; children and adult prisoners live together in overcrowded cells. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the prison was created to hold around 1,200 inmates, but it houses double or more this amount. 

Additional data from the Daily Mail via an Amnesty International study claims that violence in Fox Hill is terrible enough for prisoners to avoid leaving their overcrowded cells. This situation prevents them from taking baths and worsens their living conditions. The report added:

A US State Department study on the prison found that it was infested with rats and maggots while due to low staff numbers, the inmates were only allowed out of their cells for 30 minutes a week.

SBF’s Destiny And The Human Desire For Vengeance

FTX is in the process of investigating and recovering assets to make its clients whole. John Ray III is leading this process as the new company CEO. As Bitcoinist also reported, Ray’s priority is to mitigate customer losses. 

This task, Ray confessed in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, is impossible. The CEO believes some FTX users won’t recover their funds. Ray stated: “At the end of the day, we’re not going to be able to recover all the losses here.”

In the meantime, the Bahamian court ordered Bankman-Fried to appear again on February 8th. The extradition process and bankruptcy process could take years. FTX customers were the most affected. Speaking about SBF’s current situation, a user said:

I lost 7 figures on FTX and have friends who lost a lot more. SBF destroyed lives and set back our industry with unbelievable levels of fraud and negligence. Nevertheless, can’t help but feel sad to see him go to prison, especially in these conditions. Punishment serves a social purpose as a deterrent to others from committing the crime. Maybe it also satisfies our human desire for vengeance It does very little to reform the perpetrator and nothing to make victims whole. Just sad.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $18,000 with a 2% profit on the daily chart.