Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, is reportedly more worried about losing his internet connectivity than being imprisoned. This is supposedly the same reason why SBF prefers his jail cell over the penthouse. Bankman-Fried’s biggest concern about going to jail, as per the knowledge of the American financial author and journalist Michael Lewis Lewis, is losing his internet access – he told CBS television program “60 Minutes”.
In an interview with “60 Minutes”, which was broadcast on Sunday, Michael Lewis discussed his opinions on Bankman-Fried. On Tuesday, “Going Infinite,” Lewis’ book about the rise and collapse of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, will be released.
The Hilarious Quirks of SBF
When drafting his book, Lewis followed Bankman-Fried around for months and had close access to him. That is how he got to know Friedman’s weird antics and mentalities so well, he claimed. This is also the same reason why he could tell that SBF prefers his jail cell over the penthouse, most probably. In the end, Lewis spoke with Bankman-Fried more than 100 times over two years, according to the reports of the “60 Minutes” crew.
The well-known writer, who is most known for having penned eminent books on finance such as “Flash Boys” and “The Big Short” – is quoted to have said during the program, “Now that sounds crazy, but I do think that if he had the internet, he could survive jail forever. Without having a constant stream of information to react to — I think he may go mad.”
While discussing how SBF prefers his jail cell over a penthouse, Lewis explained in a serious tone that Sam Bankman-Fried would, beyond any doubt, when presented with the choice, choose the Brooklyn-based Metropolitan Detention Center rather than getting the chance to move into a $39 million condominium in the Bahamas – if only the former had a WiFi connection instead of the latter.
The Embellished Name of SBF
In December 2022, Bankman-Fried was accused of illegally transferring millions of dollars from FTX’s client funds to his trading company, Alameda. On Tuesday, the troubled cryptocurrency inventor is due in court to face seven criminal allegations, including the laundering of cash funds and other securities fraud.
Bankman-Fried was detained on the evening of December 14, 2022, at his $40 million apartment in the elite neighborhood of Albany. He used to be extolled by celebrities as famous as the NFL icon Tom Brady, among others. He was also known to have famously shared the stage with former American president Bill Clinton.
SBF was initially charged with eight reported offenses for allegedly defrauding crypto investors of $1.8 billion. The entire incident was touted as ‘one of the largest financial scams in the history of the United States of America.
A legal agent-cum-spokesperson of Bankman-Fried declined to respond to Lewis’ comments about how SBF prefers his jail cell over the penthouse for considerations of internet access. The comments of Michael Lewis on “60 Minutes” drew attention, especially in the background of how it was reported that SBF would stay in the lock-up, which was otherwise described as “unfit for human habitation,” for at least the weeks leading up to Christmas and the first few weeks of the New Year.
The 30-year-old crypto business tycoon was kept in detention in the only penitentiary complex of the islands of Bahamas on Tuesday while he fought his extradition to the United States on the indictments of wire and securities fraud. Late on Thursday, the island nation’s local news agency, the Eyewitness News, posted on social media application X that Bankman-Fried had submitted a bail application and that it would be considered on January 17, 2022.
Quite in tandem with his characteristic eccentricity, as extrapolated by Lewis when talking about how SBF prefers his jail cell over the penthouse, Bankman-Fried had argued back at the time when he was first detained that due to his medicinal habit, veganism, and depression, he should be given a $250,000 bail and placed under house arrest.
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