Sam Bankman-Fried Moved to Terminal Island, Home to Infamous Inmates

After spending time at FCI Victorville, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was moved to Terminal Island

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO, has been moved to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in Los Angeles. The prison is infamous for previously housing several high-profile inmates, including cult leader Charles Manson, crime boss Al Capone, and former Theranos COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who was convicted of fraud.

Sam Bankman-Fried Transferred to Terminal Island for 25-Year Sentence

According to April 18, 2025 posts on both the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Charles Manson’s Wikipedia page, Terminal Island is also the prison where Manson was later transferred to after being initially assigned to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution, located in Terminal Island, California.

Earlier this year, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 billion in restitution for his role in one of the biggest crypto frauds in history. The judge in the case, Lewis A. Kaplan, stated that Bankman-Fried was fully aware of his actions and their criminality, yet he still took the risk, believing he wouldn't be caught.

The 31-year-old billionaire was convicted by a federal jury in November 2023 on multiple fraud charges stemming from the dramatic collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that he founded.

Sam Bankman-Fried's New Priorities After FTX Collapse

Following FTX's collapse, Bankman-Fried reportedly created a Google Doc titled "Post-Sentence Priorities," where he listed ideas for rebuilding his public image.

One of the concepts involved appearing on Tucker Carlson's show (spelled "Tucker Carlsen" in his draft) and positioning himself as a Republican in opposition to the "woke agenda." This surprising shift towards right-wing messaging might be part of Bankman-Fried's calculated effort to secure a pardon from President Trump, according to legal experts.

As Trump has been known to grant pardons in high-profile cases, Bankman-Fried could be seeking this possibility. To increase his chances, the FTX founder is said to be converting to Judaism, another move that could potentially appeal to the former president.