Embattled FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s family reportedly called the Bahamas jail where he is currently held to request that he be given vegan meals.
The former crypto billionaire and CEO charged with multiple financial crimes this week was given a room in the maximum-security section of Fox Hill detention center in Nassau, according to Bloomberg sources. The prison, they say, is in terrible condition.
Of all the areas the prison lacks, the nutritional provision causes more worry for Bankman-Fried’s relatives as they called the Bahamas jail on Tuesday night to ask if authorities can provide the 30-year-old with vegan meals, per the news outlet.
This news comes after the court denied the 30-year-old bail and ordered him to remain in jail pending his extradition hearing on February 8. Prosecutors are accusing him of deceiving customers to line his pockets, charges that rose from the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange which left at least a million customers without access to their funds.
Sam Bankman-Fried is facing federal bank wire fraud charges, with potential penalties including life in prison.
— The Blonde Broker (@theblondebroker) December 13, 2022
The $8 billion-plus collapse of Bankman-Fried’s company is one of the largest financial frauds in the history of the United States, according to authorities who are still left to wonder where all investors’ money went.
The charges against him include wire fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud conspiracy, money laundering and campaign finance violations. If convicted of all eight counts, he faces up to 115 years in prison.
The Case Against Sam Bankman-Fried
After his first attempt at bail hit the wall, Bankman-Fried made a second bid on Thursday, according to Reuters. If the judge buys the argument he plans to make on his renewed bail application on January 17, it might mark the end of his days in the hellhole prison where the crypto-boss, who Forbes once estimated is worth as much as $26.5 billion, is subjected to the inhumane conditions.
A State Department report once highlighted the conditions in Fox Hill Prison, revealing that sanitation was “a general problem” there. As if the infestation of rats, insects and maggots were not enough, the cells were tiny, taking up a measly 6 feet by 10 space.
Inmates, who are subjected to degrading treatment by prison officials, reportedly dispose of human waste with buckets.
While Bankman-Fried stated intentions to fight extradition to the U.S., where bogus federal fraud charges await him, attorneys believe the harsh living conditions at the Bahamian prison will prompt him to settle for extradition.
