FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried in Brooklyn Jail Is Crypto Cautionary Tale

In this issue of the Bloomberg Crypto newsletter, Michael P. Regan tours Sam Bankman-Fried’s new Brooklyn lodgings:

Hollywood’s writers are still on strike, but when they return it’s hard to imagine any of them writing a tale of downfall more dramatic than Sam Bankman-Fried’s.

Less than a year ago, he was living large in a $40 million beachside penthouse in the Bahamas. Today, that tropical paradise is a distant memory: The former billionaire co-founder of FTX is a resident of one of the most notorious and “disgusting” jails in the US after his bail was revoked due to accusations he tried to tamper with witnesses in his federal fraud trial.

No prison is known for its luxurious accommodations, but the reputation of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is so harsh, it became a campaign issue in last year’s race for a new Congressional district in New York. In its most infamous episode, a weeklong blackout in January 2019 left inmates in the freezing cold. There have been reports of suicides, sexual abuse, and detainees shouting “help us” through the windows.