As the crypto market finally recovers in 2024 from the FTX’s horrific collapse, William D Cohan sat down with Sam Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center for a candid conversation. A 75 minute dialogue between the two revealed insights into SBF’s ongoing legal battles and his upcoming appeal.
SBF sees himself as a scapegoat
One of the focal points of the chat was SBF’s appeal. However, he believes that he was made a scapegoat in the downfall of FTX. According to Bankman-Fried, FTX was facing financial challenges in late 2022. This led him to seek deals with other entities, he revealed.
SBF stated that he found himself targeted by federal prosecutors after handing over control of FTX to John J. Ray III. This happened mainly after filing for bankruptcy.
The report mentioned that SBF maintains that if he had not followed legal counsel’s advice to step down, FTX would still be operational and thriving today.
He later claims that his actions were not criminal but rather a response to the company’s precarious financial situation. It is akin to the failures of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in 2008. Despite his conviction and sentencing to 25 years in prison, SBF remains steadfast in his innocence, attributing any negligence on his part to civil consequences rather than criminal penalties.
He expresses frustration at the lack of opportunity to negotiate a deal with prosecutors and questions why he faced prosecution when individuals at other financial institutions involved in similar situations did not.
Appeal and rice
SBF’s appeal, although seen as facing long odds of success by many, is a focal point of his current efforts. He maintains regular communication with his legal team and intends to file the appeal in the coming months.
It highlighted that SBF had found himself sustaining himself on rice and beans. He stated that “the prison food was unsurprisingly inedible, especially the vegan entrées he was served, which his fellow inmates thought literally smelled like shit.”
It added that he was just trying to make the best of a bad situation. The rice SBF buys at the prison commissary has become one of the currencies of the world inside MDC. William D Cohan and SBF joked briefly about how the arbitrage opportunities in jail were better than anything that FTX ex-CEO saw trading crypto at Jane Street Capital or buying and selling assets at Alameda.
