Sam Bankman-Fried has been transferred to a federal prison in Victorville, California, according to the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate database. Previously, he had spent about two weeks at a federal transit center in Oklahoma after leaving the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center.
Now in Victorville, a medium-security prison east of Los Angeles, Bankman-Fried’s conditions have significantly changed. Experts in federal prisons, like Larry Levine and Kyle Sandler, noted that the Victorville facility is known for its harsh conditions, with Levine describing the difference between his previous accommodations and his new one as “going from a five-star hotel to a one-star hotel.”
Victorville has a reputation for high levels of violence, including gang-related incidents, as noted by the District of Columbia Corrections Information Council in 2014.
While the Bureau of Prisons has not confirmed whether this will be Bankman-Fried’s long-term destination, Levine suggested that it is likely his home for the foreseeable future.
Bankman-Fried’s move follows his 2024 sentencing to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors and customers in the collapse of his crypto exchange, FTX, one of the largest financial crimes in U.S. history.
The former CEO had been held in a special section of the Brooklyn facility for high-profile inmates like Sean “Diddy” Combs.
While his lawyers had requested that he remain in Brooklyn during his appeal, a judge recommended the transfer to be closer to his parents in Palo Alto, California, around 400 miles from Victorville.
Additionally, Bankman-Fried is reportedly seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump, and his media campaign, which included an unauthorized video interview from prison, led to his placement in solitary confinement.
