“He fits right in”: Internet reacts to first photo of Sam Bankman-Fried from prison 

Sam Bankman-Fried, the American entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud and related crimes, was recently pictured alongside a former Bloods gang member in the first jailhouse photo of the disgraced FTX founder.

Crime reporter Tiffany Fong was interviewing the inmate beside Bankman, a gangster named G-Lock. She posted the prison image to YouTube on Monday, February 19, 2024, as per Unilad.

The 31-year-old crypto dealer was found guilty on all seven fraud and conspiracy charges related to stealing $10 billion from users of his failed crypto exchange.

The picture dates back to December 17, 2023, six weeks after he was convicted of his crimes. Netizens have reacted to Sam's pictures, most of whom are trolling him.

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Sam Bankman-Fried pictured with Bloods members in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried founded the FTX cryptocurrency exchange in 2019 and was celebrated as a "poster boy" for crypto. The disgraced dealer is the son of two Stanford law professors. In late 2017, he studied physics at MIT and traded ETFs at a quant firm before finally moving toward crypto trading.

Meanwhile, on Monday, February 19, Sam Bankman-Fried's prison photos surfaced online at the troubled Metropolitan Detention Center. The pictures were taken by Tiffany Fong, a crime reporter from New York City, on December 17, last year, as per The New York Post.

Sam is currently awaiting sentencing on March 28 and remains at the Brooklyn jail. He was seen wearing an oversized gray T-shirt and gym shorts alongside a former Blood Gang member, G-Lock. The gangster told Fong that his jailmate, the former billionaire, is “a good guy. Weird as sh*t can be strange. But he is a good guy.”

G-Lock also talked about his first encounter with Sam Bankman-Fried. He told Fong that the former FTX owner “had a belly; he was eating good. [Now] he’s skinny like a toothpick,” as per CBS. Sam's defense attorney, Mark Cohen, told the court that the crypto fraud was “subsisting on bread and water and sometimes peanut butter.” The jail had reportedly refused to serve him vegan meals.

Netizens have given their opinions about the fraudulent crypto dealer. Some of the reactions are given below.

G-Lock also revealed that Sam Bankman-Fried had not been showering in jail. The gangster added that when he first met the entrepreneur, he “was clean-shaven.” He continued:

“Now, scruffier than a motherf*cker. Full beard. He’s not getting a shower, he’s not doing anything. He didn’t snitch on nobody, Sam is a gangster. Sam is more gangster than Tekashi69, Sam Bankman stood on all ten toes. Tekashi ratted."

Tekashi is a rapper who could have been sentenced to 40 years in prison for weapons and drug charges. However, he ultimately decided to testify against his fellow gang members in exchange for a lighter sentence, as per Unilad. G-Lock said “nobody’s beating him up" and called on Joe Biden to pardon the crypto businessman.

According to CNBC, Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven charges related to the collapse of his crypto empire and now faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.