FTX Founder SBF Transferred to One of California's Most Violent Prisons

On April 10, 2025, Sam Bankman-Fried (commonly known as SBF), the founder of FTX, was transferred from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to Victorville Medium II Federal Correctional Institution in California, a medium-security prison notorious for its violent environment. According to Decrypt, this facility, often referred to as "Victimville," is considered one of the most dangerous prisons in California.

Sam Bankman-Fried was once a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry. As the founder of the FTX exchange, he was hailed as the "crypto poster boy" in 2021, with a personal net worth reaching $26 billion. However, in November 2022, FTX collapsed amid allegations of misappropriating customer funds, resulting in losses exceeding $8 billion for users. In November 2023, SBF was convicted on four wire fraud-related charges and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, receiving a 25-year prison sentence and an order to pay $11 billion in restitution, marking one of the largest financial fraud cases in U.S. history.

Following his sentencing, SBF was initially held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York, and was transferred to a transit center in Oklahoma in March 2025. After two weeks in transit, he was finally relocated to Victorville to serve his sentence. Decrypt repoted that this transfer was made by the Federal Bureau of Prisons based on SBF's sentence length and security classification, but the harsh conditions at Victorville have raised concerns about his personal safety.

Victorville Medium II Federal Correctional Institution is located in Victorville, California, approximately a two-hour drive northeast of Los Angeles. Since its opening in 2004, the prison has been infamous for its culture of violence, earning the nickname "Victimville" among inmates and the media. According to the Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers website, multiple violent incidents have occurred in Victorville, with at least five inmates murdered over the past decade. Federal prison consultant Christopher Zoukis, in an interview with Decrypt, stated, "Medium-security prisons typically house inmates with longer sentences, where the quality of life is lower, and the risk of violence is significantly higher than in low-security facilities." He also noted that SBF, as a high-profile financial criminal, might face additional safety threats while incarcerated.

In early March, SBF gave an interview from prison with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, where he reiterated, "I don't think I was a criminal," adding, "I mean, I think the DOJ thinks that I may have been, but I don’t care." This interview was seen as an effort at seeking clemency amid a wave of presidential pardons. Following the interview, Mark Botnick, who had served as SBF's crisis manager since the collapse of FTX, resigned.