Sam Bankman-Fried may leave prison four years earlier than the scheduled term

American correctional facilities expect the founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX to leave incarceration in December 2044. This means that his initial twenty-five-year sentence will be shortened to 21 years, according to Business Insider.

How the sentence reduction works

The reduction of the prison term is based on several factors. First, it considers the time Benkman-Fried spent in pre-trial detention. He was denied bail two months before the court hearing after his lawyers disclosed personal records belonging to Caroline Ellis, the former head of the Alameda platform.

Second, prisons credit inmates with so-called “good behavior days.” According to a representative of the US Bureau of Prisons, detainees can earn 54 days off for each year of their sentence served. Additionally, participation in prison educational and rehabilitation programs allows for earning extra credits.

Court verdict and future prospects

Benkman-Fried was sentenced in March 2024 for seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The Manhattan court handed down the harshest sentence in the history of cryptocurrency crimes. At that time, it was expected that he would be released in December 2048, but the credited reductions changed this date.

Transfer to a less restrictive prison

It is worth noting that in April of this year, Sam Bankman-Fried was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a low-security prison in California. His legal team petitioned for such a transfer, citing autism spectrum disorder and the absence of prior convictions.

The Caroline Ellis case

Unlike Benkman-Fried, Caroline Ellis, who also served as CEO of Alameda, received a two-year sentence. Correctional facilities forecast her release in May 2026, which corresponds to her original sentence without significant reductions.