Under Suicide Watch and Blackmailed: SBF's Prison Life Through the Eyes of Cellmates
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Under Suicide Watch and Blackmailed: SBF's Prison Life Through the Eyes of Cellmates
"Prosecutors and judges only care about their own reputations, and the SBF case is precisely a glorious example—so he's finished."
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Jesse Coghlan
Translation: Frank, Foresight News
A former inmate has revealed that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was deeply concerned about his safety during pre-trial detention at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, even considering paying "protection money" to another prisoner.
Gene Borrello, a former New York mob enforcer, told crypto blogger Tiffany Fong in an interview on November 30 that he had been incarcerated alongside SBF for a period and said SBF was under suicide watch, was being extorted, hadn't eaten or showered for several days, felt extremely uncomfortable in prison, and was worried about his safety.
According to Gene Borrello, other inmates perceived the former cryptocurrency tycoon as weak and frail, with a physique like an “80-year-old man,” and assumed he was wealthy.
"He looked like an 80-year-old man, no muscle at all—you know what I mean?"
Borrello said one inmate tried to intimidate SBF into paying protection money, while another attempted to convince SBF that “it’s dangerous here, you need protection.”
However, SBF was housed in a unit at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center that separates wealthy individuals and government cooperators from the general prison population.
"I kept telling him: It's not dangerous here, you don't need extra protection. Don't worry, you don't have to pay anyone. Don't listen to these damn idiots."
Gene Borrello claimed he got into an argument with another inmate, leading to a physical fight that resulted in both being placed in special housing units for solitary confinement—Borrello remained there for 80 days.
A prison incident report stated that Gene Borrello assaulted an inmate named Kevin Cruz twice, resulting in both being sent to solitary confinement.
Recalling conversations with SBF, Borrello said, "When he talked to you, he’d keep his head down, looking timid and speaking nervously."
He also questioned SBF, the former billionaire, about how he spent his money: "What did you do with all that cash? What kind of watch do you have?" SBF replied, "I have an Apple Watch."
Borrello continued, "What kind of car do you drive?" SBF answered, "A 2020 Toyota Camry."
Borrello found this bizarre: "I told my friends, then why the hell did he steal the money? Did he just want to see what it looked like?"
Borrello believed SBF "couldn’t mix with other inmates" because he was seen as rich (once worth an estimated $26 billion), making him a target for further extortion attempts.
SBF didn’t seem to grasp "how much trouble he was really in," Borrello recalled, believing clearly that he "wouldn’t get a long sentence."
"He just didn’t understand how serious it was," Borrello said. "We tried to explain to him—this is the federal government, you’re accused of stealing billions of dollars. Only when we started explaining it did SBF begin to realize how bad his situation was."
Borrello said SBF was more afraid of prison than his own case, thinking he might spend 20 years behind bars. "We looked at him like he was crazy. I kept trying to tell him, you’re never going to see the outside world again." (Note: On November 2, SBF was convicted on seven counts of money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy, facing up to 115 years in prison. His sentencing is set for March 28, and his lawyers are expected to appeal.)
Borrello also said he tried to warn SBF that Lewis Kaplan, the New York judge overseeing his case, was "the toughest judge in the entire Southern District of New York."
In most cases, judges follow the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations, but so far the prosecution has not submitted a recommendation in SBF’s case—"which is really outrageous," Borrello said.
"I think giving such a long sentence is nonsense," he added. "There’s no reason for that guy to get 100 years—it’s absolutely insane."
Borrello called the SBF case a "glory case," one that every prosecutor wants to be part of because they hope to become "judges, politicians, analysts, and top-tier federal prosecutors."
"They only care about their own reputations, and the SBF case is a glory case—so he’s finished."
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