SBF jail photos surface, former inmate says he is 'more gangster' than 6ix9ine 

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A photo published on X by independent crypto crime reporter Tiffany Fong shows former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in jail, sporting a beard and looking noticeably slimmer as he does time in federal prison.

First photo of Sam Bankman-Fried in jail at MDC Brooklyn. (December 17, 2023) pic.twitter.com/QlENjjmeQG

— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) February 20, 2024

According to Fong, the photo was taken on December 17, 2023 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Bankman-Fried has been held in the facility since his conviction on seven fraud charges in November 2023. The photos were taken for Christmas Day, given how the detention center only allows photos of inmates for the holiday and Father’s Day, according to Fong’s report. 

An unreleased interview with a former inmate known as “G Lock” reveals that SBF had lost weight and was not maintaining his previously clean-shaven appearance. G Lock also described SBF as being “weird as sh##” and was “scruffy than a motherf######” though he later acknowledges that SBF was a “good guy.”

According to the interview, SBF had not faced serious threats or violence from other prisoners.

As a former inmate, G Lock appears to have developed an affinity with SBF, describing him as “more gangster” than rapper Tekashi Six Nine (6ix9ine). This was because, unlike the rapper, SBF did not “snitch” on anyone while in prison. 

Fong reports that Bankman-Fried’s fellow inmates had made fun of him for his relationship with former Alameda Research executive Caroline Ellison, who pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

On October 2023, Ellison testified for the prosecution in Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. Ellison now awaits sentencing and faces up to 110 years of imprisonment. 

The recent photo provides a rare glimpse of Bankman-Fried’s life after FTX imploded in allegations of fraud and misuse of customer funds. Bankman-fried awaits sentencing on March 28, 2024.

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