Formerly incarcerated in New York and California, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, is now reported to be in Oklahoma, according to prison records.
As of May 23, inmate records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicated that Bankman-Fried was being held at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. This facility is known to temporarily confine inmates for transfers within the prison system, as stated by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Reports from May 22, along with Bankman-Fried’s relocation to Oklahoma, suggested that he may have been transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Mendota. Surprisingly, this transfer seemed to have occurred despite Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recommending that Bankman-Fried remain at MDC Brooklyn.
Bankman-Fried had been held in New York since his bail was revoked in August 2023. Following his sentencing hearing in March 2024, he requested to stay at MDC Brooklyn in order to have easier access to his appellate counsel. In November 2023, Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven felony counts, and Judge Kaplan subsequently sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
In a letter filed with the court on May 22, Judge Kaplan requested that Bankman-Fried remain in New York until his appeal was fully briefed, in order to facilitate access to his appellate counsel.
At the moment, it is uncertain how long Bankman-Fried will be held in the Oklahoma facility. If he is transferred to FCI Mendota, it would bring him closer to his parents’ home in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ website reveals that the Oklahoma facility near the Will Rogers World Airport currently houses 1,414 inmates.
Bankman-Fried is the only individual associated with the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research who pleaded not guilty and was convicted for his involvement in defrauding customers. Former FTX and Alameda executives Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh all pleaded guilty and made deals with the authorities. Salame’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 28.
According to Inner City Press and X Hall of Flame, Alex Mashinsky, the founder of Celsius Network, is expected to receive a shorter prison sentence than Bankman-Fried.