Sam Bankman Fried’s Message From Jail: 'No, I Do Not Have a *** Phone'

At least one former officer once employed at the same low-security facility Sam Bankman-Fried is currently imprisoned in was found guilty of smuggling a cellphone on behalf of an inmate in 2014.

Exactly How Is SBF Tweeting From Behind Bars?

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried is tweeting again. The disgraced CEO and founder of the now bankrupt FTX crypto exchange is serving a 25-year sentence for an unprecedented multi-billion-dollar fraud that wreaked havoc on the entire crypto ecosystem. He appears to be seeking some sort of exoneration by implying that the Biden administration targeted him unfairly. But how is he tweeting all of this from prison? He claims he doesn’t have an “a*s phone,” but many don’t believe him.

An a*s phone is a cellphone smuggled into jail or prison and concealed in an inmate’s body cavity, usually the intergluteal cleft, also known as the butt crack. It is also possible and more effective, though much more difficult, to stuff a phone up one’s rectum.

“Obligatory disclaimer: No, I do not have a 🍑 📱,” Bankman-Fried wrote late Tuesday evening. “I have a friend who has my log-in details.” The peach emoji Bankman-Fried used represents the words “butt” or “a*s.”

The 33-year-old MIT graduate is currently housed at a low-security federal prison in Los Angeles, California called Terminal Island. In 2014, a former Terminal Island correctional officer, Luis Borjon, was found guilty of accepting a bribe to help an inmate smuggle a cellphone into the facility. The bribe wasn’t particularly steep, only $1,000.

(Sam Bankman-Fried is currently housed at a low-security federal prison in Los Angeles, California, called Terminal Island / Federal Bureau of Prisons) Bankman-Fried, who at one time boasted a net worth of $26.5 billion, making him the 25th richest person in America according to Forbes, says he dictates his thoughts to a friend “via approved BOP phone/email.” BOP stands for Bureau of Prisons. The friend then posts Bankman-Fried’s messages on X and Gettr, a right-leaning social media platform. But SBF has lied before, and many think he’s lying again. “Sounds like something someone who has an assphone would say,” one X user wrote.

For now, the former billionaire prodigy appears more concerned with rehabilitating his image. He blames the Biden-era Operation Choke Point 2.0, an alleged covert effort to undermine the crypto industry, for singling him out because he donated to pro-crypto Republicans.

“In 2020, I was center-left. By 2022 – having seen Gensler/Biden’s DOJ on crypto – I was a centrist, and (privately) donated tens of millions to Republicans,” Bankman-Fried wrote on Gettr. “Weeks later, Biden’s anti-crypto SEC/DOJ went after me. They had me arrested weeks before the crypto bill I was working on was set for a vote.”

But few have expressed much interest in SBF’s excuses. Rather, what many are curious about, is whether he cleverly hid a smartphone in a body cavity, or simply paid someone like Borjon to smuggle it in.

FAQ ⚡

• How is SBF posting from prison in Los Angeles?

He says he dictates messages via approved BOP phone/email and a friend with his login posts them.

• Is an inmate allowed to have a phone at Terminal Island?

No. Contraband cellphones are prohibited and monitored BOP channels are the lawful route.

• Has Terminal Island seen phone smuggling before?

Yes. A former Terminal Island officer was convicted in 2014 for helping smuggle a cellphone into the facility.

• Could SBF actually have an “ass phone”?

Smuggling by bribery or concealment is known to occur, so investigators treat that as a plausible possibility until proven otherwise.