Edited by: TJVNews.com

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is facing a period of incarceration leading up to his October fraud trial, as he has been ordered by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan to be confined in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, as was reported by the New York Post. This jail has garnered notoriety for its subpar conditions, having housed former inmates like Jeffrey Epstein gal pal and alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui. The Post report indicated that the decision to place Bankman-Fried in the MDC comes after he was accused of leaking personal writings of his former associate Caroline Ellison to a New York Times reporter, potentially interfering with the upcoming trial.

The Metropolitan Detention Center has been under intense scrutiny in recent years due to reports of severe staffing shortages and appalling conditions for inmates, as was reported by the Post. Past issues have included incidents of maggot-infested food, unhygienic cells, power outages, and even a lack of heating and lighting due to an electrical fire. Notably, Ghislaine Maxwell, known for her association with Jeffrey Epstein, had described the facility as “reprehensible and utterly inappropriate,” while Guo Wengui’s legal team labeled it “an extraordinarily dangerous environment,” the Post report said.

Bankman-Fried’s legal team plans to appeal the decision to incarcerate him in the MDC, asserting that he should have the right to communicate with the press. According to the Post report. they argued that prosecutors were seeking his imprisonment based on vague evidence, speculation, and insinuations rather than solid facts. The Post report noted that the defense also expressed concerns about the conditions at MDC and had requested that Bankman-Fried be placed in a minimum-security jail in Putnam County, New York.

The move to jail Bankman-Fried represents another twist in his legal saga, which began when he was initially arrested in the Bahamas, as was reported by the Post. He was later transferred to US custody and released on an unprecedented $250 million bond, spending his house arrest period at his parents’ mansion in Palo Alto, California, the report added. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to a range of fraud charges related to the downfall of FTX. According to the Post report, the prosecution alleges that he embezzled billions of dollars from FTX customers, using the funds to support a lavish lifestyle that included luxury real estate purchases including an opulent home that he purchased for his parents.

The Post also reported that a secret recording has emerged that sheds light on the tumultuous events leading to the downfall of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the subsequent legal troubles of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. The recording captures Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, FTX’s hedge fund, blaming Bankman-Fried for the decision to use customer funds to plug financial gaps in the failing hedge fund, the Post report added.  This revelation comes as Bankman-Fried’s trial approaches, with Ellison expected to testify against her former lover.

The recording, made by an Alameda employee during a company meeting on November 9, allegedly captures Ellison discussing the dire situation with her employees just days before FTX declared bankruptcy. As was reported by the Post, in the recording, Ellison is said to express her apologies for the situation and indicate that her plan was to wind down Alameda once creditors were repaid.

During the meeting, an employee reportedly asked Ellison who made the decision to use FTX user deposits to cover losses. The Post report said that Ellison is said to have pointed the blame at Bankman-Fried, according to court documents filed in the US District Court in southern New York.

Additionally, it has been reported that Ellison kept a memo titled “Things Sam is Freaking Out About,” which federal prosecutors intend to present as evidence during the upcoming trial. The Post report noted that this memo is part of the prosecution’s case to demonstrate that Bankman-Fried defrauded FTX customers to cover losses incurred by Alameda.

Caroline Ellison, who has already pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, is anticipated to testify against Bankman-Fried in his trial, scheduled to begin on October 2 in a Manhattan federal court.

As Bankman-Fried’s trial is scheduled to commence on October 2, the legal battle and his confinement in the MDC will undoubtedly attract further attention and fuel discussions about the treatment of high-profile defendants and the conditions of detention facilities.