Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was kept away from the general prison population and enjoyed special perks such as air-conditioning and cable TV during his short stint at Fox Hill, according to a report Wednesday.
Bankman-Fried, who agreed to be extradited to the US on Wednesday after eight days at the notorious Bahamas prison, was kept with a handful of other prisoners in the facility’s sick wing, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed prison officials.
He was given his own cot in the rat-and-maggot-infested facility in what the outlet described as a “luxury” compared to other inmates. Bankman-Fried also had access to air-conditioning “from a nearby inspector’s office, as well as running water and a toilet.”
The 30-year-old crypto huckster has “spent his days watching TV news and reading articles about himself.” Bankman-Fried has also “been allowed to play crossword puzzles” for entertainment.
The report said the picky-eating Bankman-Fried “has been getting vegan food” in addition to more standard fare such as grits and sausage for breakfast and corned beef and chicken wings for lunch.
Officials told Bloomberg that individual guards were assigned to watch Bankman-Fried and that a doctor examined him twice a day.
Bankman-Fried’s representatives and Fox Hill officials declined the outlet’s request for comment on his accommodations.
The former billionaire’s accommodations appeared posh compared to other inmates at Fox Hill – which a warden once described as “not fit for humanity.”
Doan Cleare, the acting commissioner of corrections at Fox Hill, told Bloomberg that Bankman-Fried “seemed relieved and upbeat” about his extradition to the US and wished staffers at the prison a “Merry Christmas” before leaving the facility for a court appearance.
Last year, the US State Department issued a report on potential human rights abuses at the site, where “inmates removed human waste by bucket.”
The report detailed “overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, and inadequate medical care” and noted that “some inmates developed bedsores from lying on the bare ground.”
The conditions may have played a role in Bankman-Fried’s quick about-face over his previously indicated plan to fight extradition. He will be held in federal custody upon arrival in the US.
Bankman-Fried was slapped with eight federal charges over allegations that he bilked FTX customers out of $8 billion. He faces 115 years in prison if convicted on all charges.Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s life in infamous Bahamas prison
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
