Sam Bankman-Fried shouldn’t count on to get Adderall or good vegetarian cooking the place he’s headed, in accordance with a federal jail system skilled. He’ll be fortunate if he’s capable of keep away from gang violence, as he’s more than likely headed to a medium-security jail.
On Thursday, a Manhattan choose sentenced the disgraced FTX founder to 25 years in federal jail—a size of time that has key implications for what jail he’ll now be despatched to.
In response to Christopher Zoukis, a federal jail marketing consultant, precedent means that convicts like Bankman-Fried who obtain sentences of 25 years or longer are prone to be despatched to medium-security prisons.
Such a jail task would possible be an unlucky improvement for the one-time billionaire. American federal prisons run the gamut by way of high quality of dwelling, and medium-security prisons provide decrease high quality of life—and better dangers of violence—than decrease safety alternate options.
Federal prisons are organized by safety stage, from minimal to excessive. Minimal-security prisons home principally non-violent offenders in dorm-style housing. At low-security prisons, staffing is increased, however violence can be low, and inmates additionally dwell collectively in dorms. Issues begin to look completely different at medium-security prisons, the place inmates with longer jail sentences or extra extreme data are saved in closely guarded cells.
“Once you get to the medium-security stage, you may have an enormous swing,” Zoukis mentioned. “You could have extraordinarily violent mediums—after which you may have very gentle mediums.”
So what kind of medium-security jail may Bankman-Fried be despatched to?
Geography is vital. Regardless that the crypto founder was tried in New York, he’s not from there; Zoukis believes that as a result of the entrepreneur was beforehand dwelling beneath home arrest at his household’s residence in Palo Alto, odds are he’ll be despatched to a jail nearer to his household on the West Coast.
That’s additionally not nice information for Bankman-Fried.
“Your West Coast mediums are typically quite a bit more durable,” Zoukis instructed Decrypt. “There’s much more gang involvement, and much more jail politics, than at East Coast or mid-Atlantic mediums.”
One California medium-security federal jail—FCI Victorville Medium—has such an in depth document of inmate violence that it’s colloquially known as “Victimville.” Whereas FCI Victorville technically matches the factors for the kind of jail at which Bankman-Fried could find yourself, although, Zoukis doubts the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) would need to threat the damaging publicity that may possible come if the previous Silicon Valley darling was assaulted or murdered in custody.
“That place is simply brutal,” he mentioned. “I do not assume the BOP needs a really seen assault or dying on their arms.”
“Softer” medium prisons in California aren’t rather more engaging choices, although. One such jail—FCI Herlong, which is north of Lake Tahoe—was once thought of a comparatively livable medium-security jail. It not too long ago misplaced that repute.
“For a very long time, it was considered a greater medium—however extra not too long ago, within the final two or three months, they’ve had a major shift there and folks like intercourse offenders, LGBT inmates, and informants—they actually cannot keep usually inhabitants anymore,” Zoukis mentioned in November of FCI Herlong. “It is simply turn into too harmful now.”
Zoukis believes Bankman-Fried is, on account of an absence of ideally suited choices, more than likely to be despatched both to FCI Herlong, to USP Lompoc north of Santa Barbara, or to FCI Mendota exterior of Fresno. And whereas the convicted crypto government or his attorneys might probably foyer the Bureau of Prisons for a greater jail task, these requests are hardly ever profitable.
Within the subsequent two or three weeks, Zoukis instructed Decrypt this week, the DSCC—a division inside the Bureau of Prisons that determines preliminary prisoner designations—will determine the place to ship Bankman-Fried based mostly on the information of his case and the 25-year sentence he acquired right this moment.
As soon as that call is made, Zoukis mentioned, it is going to be tough to alter or protest.
“It is arduous to affect the DSCC,” Zoukis mentioned. “The instances that we’re capable of actually successfully affect them is when you may have severe psychological well being or bodily well being issues.”
Zoukis doubts that Bankman-Fried’s well-documented authorized requests for Adderall and vegan meals will meet that bar. He additionally, tangentially, thinks the fallen crypto mogul could must say goodbye to these creature comforts for the indefinite future.
“I’d be astounded in the event that they gave Adderall,” he mentioned. “And they’ll have a vegetarian possibility for each meal. It will not be pleasant.”
No matter jail Bankman-Fried finally ends up at, he must get used to for fairly a while: It is trying like he’ll be there for not less than the subsequent 19 years, even when his sentence will get all probably eligible reductions.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa and Andrew Hayward
Editor’s be aware: This story was initially revealed on November 2, 2023. Final up to date with new data on March 28, 2024.
