Sam Bankman-Fried Says Diddy Has Been ‘Kind’ to Him in Jail

FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried doesn’t think that life behind bars at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn has been all bad.

In an interview on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” the disgraced crypto mogul said that he has struck up a “kind” relationship with notorious hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was arrested on conspiracy and sex trafficking charges in September.

“If someone told me three years ago, ‘you’ll be hanging out with Diddy every day,’ I’d be like, ‘oh, that’s interesting, I wonder how that’s going to happen,’” Bankman-Fried mused. He added that he’d probably think “[Diddy] gets into crypto or something.”

The reality is that both Bankman-Fried and Combs are sharing a “barrack-style” living space within the New York facility, which is designed to hold around 20 inmates. Bankman-Fried has been there since his bail was revoked in August 2023 over witness tampering concerns.

A year-and-a-half later, Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and is pursuing an appeal. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after a Manhattan jury found the one-time wunderkind guilty on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy . 

“I don’t think I’m a criminal,” Bankman-Fried said.

Speaking of Combs, Bankman-Fried admitted that he’s “only seen one piece of him.” Combs has been accused by authorities of forced labor, kidnapping, arson, and coercing women into participating in lavish “freak-off” sex parties.

“You’re not going to tell Diddy it’s your birthday tomorrow? I don’t believe you,” the former Fox News host asked when Bankman-Fried mentioned his 33rd birthday is on Thursday. “Someone else might tell him, but I don’t plan to,” Bankman-Fried responded.

Overall, Combs has been kind to other inmates, Bankman-Friend said, sporting the messy head of hair that he has been known for. During the interview, Bankman-Fried wore a brown prison jumpsuit.

When he’s not hanging out with Combs, Bankman-Fried says he likes to play chess with other inmates, although some of them do not speak English.

Known for being a picky eater, Bankman-Fried said he subsists mostly on rice and beans and ramen these days. Muffins wrapped in plastic are prized throughout the facility as a “fungible” form of currency, he added.

Though Bankman-Fried isn’t worried about his safety, he said there are occasionally flashes of violence among inmates because the environment lacks stimulation.

“You see people getting in a fist fight over a single banana,” he said. “Not because they even care about it that much, but because what else is there to channel your caring into?”

Edited by James Rubin

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to update the headline to clarify the type of facility they’re incarcerated in.