FTX crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried thought prison would be ‘like The Shawshank Redemption’: report
Mintz & Gold partner Ira Sorkin discusses whether accused fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried’s “loose lips” will hurt his criminal case on “The Claman Countdown.”
Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly said he thought his time in prison in the Bahamas would be like the classic 1994 film “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“I thought it was going to be like The Shawshank Redemption,” the disgraced FTX founder and CEO told Forbes in an exclusive interview published Thursday.
The film starring Morgan Freeman was nominated for seven Oscars.
The former billionaire told the publication that he was assigned a room with five other inmates in the facility̵[ads1]7;s infirmary, keeping him away from the general population.
SAM BANKMAN FRIED TWEETS GONE WHILE UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives in court in New York on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried painted a vivid picture of life at Fox Hill, showering with a garden hose, drying off with a three-inch by five-inch towel, and sleeping in the “worst possible bed you can imagine, made of cardboard and a piece of semi-soft plastic on top of stilts.”
Once the head of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, he said he used the suit jacket he wore to court appearances as a pillow.
Bahamas Department of Corrections Fox Hill Prison, where FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was held on December 20, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The 30-year-old became friends with the other inmates and did not feel in danger, although some of them asked him for money.
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The worst part, he told Forbes, was the lack of internet.
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted out of the Magistrate’s Court on December 21, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I didn’t realize how much more important than everything else combined Internet access is to me, but it was like 80% of the total cost of being in prison,” he said, noting that he would occasionally access a newspaper .
Bankman-Fried claimed he was limited to a 30-minute phone call during his entire stay, but was allowed to meet with his Bahamian lawyers daily.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan Federal Court after his trial and bail hearings on December 22, 2022 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Getty Images)
In December, he waived his right to fight extradition and agreed to return to the United States to face charges. He flew on a private FBI plane to a local police station in White Plains, New York, and his lawyers agreed to a $250 million bail scheme, supported in part by his parents’ $4 million home in California, where he is now confined wearing an electronic anklet. bracelet. He pleaded not guilty to a series of federal charges he faces for allegedly defrauding clients and investors, entering his plea through his attorneys.
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Bankman-Fried’s trial is set for October 2.
Fox Business’ Breck Dumas, Marta Dhanis and Reuters contributed to this report.
