As Sam Bankman-Fried awaits sentencing, there has been speculation about how many years the former FTX CEO will be imprisoned and where he will be imprisoned.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are asking that Bankman-Fried be sentenced to between 40 and 50 years in prison, but the defense is asking for a much shorter sentence, just over six and a half years.
Experts generally believe he will serve at least twenty years on the low end and 50 years on the high end, and will likely end up in a medium-security prison.
Christopher Zoukis, a federal prisons expert, told DailyMail.com that he believes Bankman-Fried will likely be sent to a West Coast prison, such as FCI Herlong or Mendota.
Zoukis serves as CEO of Zoukis Consulting Group, a firm that, among other things, prepares future federal inmates by educating them about life in a federal prison.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (pictured), who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, walks outside Manhattan federal court.
In the photo: FCI Herlong in California, where Bankman-Fried could be sentenced to live out his next years. One of Herlong’s most prominent inmates, rapper BG, was released from prison last year after serving 12 of his 14-year sentence.
The consulting firm has clients in minimum-security prisons, all the way to ADX Florence in Colorado, a maximum-security facility that houses some of the country’s most notorious criminals.
Zoukis explained that the Federal Bureau of Prisons applies a security point value to prisoners that in part determines what type of prison they will be housed in.
The length of the sentence also greatly influences where a convict will end up.
Generally, public safety factor guidelines stipulate that if someone has 10 or more years of service left, they should end up in a low-security facility. Twenty+ years requires at least a medium security designation, while 30+ years requires at least a high security designation.
In Bankman-Fried’s case, the Bureau of Prisons could apply a public safety factor exemption, something Zoukis explained also happened with Bernie Madoff. This allowed Madoff, despite his 150-year sentence, to serve his sentence in a medium-security prison instead of a high-security one.
With that possibility on the table, Zoukis said that even with a sentence of more than 30 years, Bankman-Fried is likely to end up in a medium-security prison like Madoff.
Christopher Zoukis is CEO of Zoukis Consulting Group, which advises incarcerated attorneys and clients on the inner workings of the federal prison system.
Pictured: Mendota Federal Correctional Institution, where Bankman-Fried could end up, according to Zoukis
Herlong Federal Correctional Institution, another possible destination for Bankman-Fried
‘The only risk here is… if he goes to medium security prison, what medium security prison? So there are very good mediums and very bad ones,” Zoukis told DailyMail.com.
He added that he doesn’t think Bankman-Fried will end up in a “bad environment” like FCI Victorville in California.
“In cases like these that are very visible, I think (the Bureau of Prisons is) very cautious about where they put people because they don’t want to have a negative public impression of someone like him being attacked,” Zoukis said.
Ultimately, if Bankman-Fried is considered a medium-security prisoner, Zoukis said he could end up at FCI Herlong or FCI Mendota, both in California.
Herlong houses 1,391 inmates, while Mendota has fewer than 950, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Both medium-security prison options are in the same state where Bankman-Fried’s parents reside. They live in a house in the San Francisco Bay Area.
One of Herlong’s most notable inmates, rapper BG, was released from prison last year after serving 12 years of his 14-year sentence, Rolling Stone reported.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is sworn in and appears in court for the first time since his fraud conviction in November.
Herlong also used to have a decent reputation as a humane prison, but has since become an unsafe place for sex offenders, LGBTQ people, and informants again, according to Puck News.
As for Mendota, in January 2023, the EPA launched an investigation into its alleged improper storage of hazardous materials, the Fresno Bee reported.
The federal prison also made headlines last year after a 34-year-old inmate died in Mendota in December.
And in June 2023, a manhunt began after a missing 42-year-old inmate left the FCI satellite camp in Mendota.
Medium-security prisons are known for having reinforced perimeters and high staff-to-inmate ratios. Prisons are often very overcrowded, with small cells and steel bunk beds bolted to the walls.
At FCI Mendota, inmates live in two-person cells and have access to the library, as well as a commissary to purchase snacks, ice cream and electronics.
Aaron McGlothin, president of the Mendota Federal Correctional Institution union, stands in front of the prison, which could be Bankman-Fried’s destination
Herlong (pictured) houses 1,391 inmates, while Mendota has fewer than 950, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Sam Enzer is a former attorney for the SDNY, the office prosecuting Bankman-Fried.
California prison inmates can play softball, soccer, football, and tennis, as well as enjoy the gym where exercise classes including spinning, yoga, and aerobics are offered.
People imprisoned at FCI Herlong live in two- or three-person cells. Inmates can use the jail gym, which features a basketball court and several exercise machines.
They can also enjoy exercise courses, music classes and arts and crafts programs while serving their prison sentences in Herlong.
Another prediction about the length of Bankman-Fried’s prison sentence came from Sam Enzer, former SDNY attorney and president of Cahill Gordon’s fintech and cryptocurrency group.
He told the Unchained podcast that he expects “a sentence of more than 20 years.”