The post Sam Bankman-Fried Moved to Terminal Island, Home to Infamous Inmates appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was moved to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in Los Angeles on April 18, 2025. Notably, this prison once housed several high-profile inmates, including cult leader Charles Manson, notorious crime boss Al Capone, and former Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was convicted of fraud.
Bankman-Fried Moved from Victorville to Terminal Island
Before landing at the terminal Island in Los Angeles, Fried was held at FCI Victorville, a medium-security prison in San Bernardino County which is known for its tough conditions and political atmosphere. Just a month earlier, he was briefly held at the Federal Transfer Facility in Oklahoma City during his relocation process.
The prison shuffle comes shortly after Fried made headlines for giving an unauthorised Jailhouse interview to media figure Tucker Carlson, His high-profile case has him under the public eye for his role in the FTX collapse.
Fried’s Plan to Rebuild Image
He was convicted in November 2023 on multiple fraud charges for his role in the dramatic collapse of FTX. At his sentencing in March 2024, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan remarked that Fried knew his actions were wrong and criminal, but he still took the risk believing that he would not get caught. He is now serving a 25-year sentence and has been ordered to pay $11 billion for his role in one of the biggest crypto frauds in history.
After the dramatic collapse of FTX, Fried reportedly created a Google Doc outlining ways to rebuild his public image. One of the ideas included appearing on Tucker Carlson’s show (spelled “Tucker Carlsen” in his draft) and positioning himself as a Republican in opposition to the “woke agenda.”
Bankman’s Efforts To Secure Pardon From Trump
Legal experts now believe that Fried’s surprising shift towards right-wing messaging could be a part of his calculated effort to secure a pardon from President Trump. Since Trump’s inauguration, reports suggest that Bankman may be reaching out to right wing-figures in hopes of securing a Presidential pardon. This comes after Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder, who received a pardon from Trump and is set to appear at the Bitcoin 2025 conference. Meanwhile other former FTX executives including Caroline Ellison and Ryan Salame are in prison with little public attention.
FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former engineering director Nishad Singh were the only ones from the original indictment who avoided prison time. They got credit for the time they had already spent in custody because they helped with the investigation.
