Former FTX CEO, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, is no longer imprisoned in New York or California, where his parents own a house. According to prison records, he has been relocated to Oklahoma.
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 confine inmates on a temporary basis for transfers within the prison system, as stated by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice.
SBF’s move to Oklahoma, along with reports from May 22, suggested that authorities might have transferred him from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Mendota. This transfer seems to have taken place despite Judge Lewis Kaplan, from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, recommending that SBF 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Bankman-Fried had been held in New York since his bail was revoked in August 2023.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 had requested to stay at MDC Brooklyn to have better access to his appellate counsel. In November 2023, he was convicted of seven felony counts by a jury, 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 has been fully briefed to ensure access to his appellate counsel.
At the time of publication, it was uncertain how long Bankman-Fried would be confined in the Oklahoma facility. If he is transferred to FCI Mendota, he would be closer to his parents’ home in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Oklahoma facility, located near the Will Rogers World Airport, currently houses 1,414 inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ website.
Bankman-Fried is the only individual involved in the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research who pleaded not guilty and was convicted for defrauding customers. Former FTX and Alameda executives Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh all pleaded guilty and made deals with authorities. Salame’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 28.
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