Convicted Fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried Opens Up About Prison Friendship with Alleged Sex Trafficker Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Mar. 15, 2025

Sean “Diddy” Combs; Sam Bankman-Fried.Photo:Bryan Steffy/WireImage; Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

Bryan Steffy/WireImage; Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

Sam Bankman-Fried, theconvicted crypto-fraudster, is opening up about his friendships behind bars — including with disgraced music mogulSean “Diddy” Combs.

Bankman-Fried, founder of failed crypto exchange FTX, is currently serving time atBrooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centerafter beingsentencedto 25 years in prison.

Combs, 55, who is facing severalsex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges, is being held at the same facility. Also housed at the prison isLuigi Mangione, the man suspected of murdering healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In aninterviewwith Tucker Carlson, when asked if he has made friends in jail, Bankman-Fried says that while it’s a “weird environment” to be in, he has Combs’ support.

He breaks into a nervous laugh when Carlson asks him if he has made friends with fellow inmates and if he is “hanging with Diddy.”

“He’s been kind," Bankman-Fried says, smiling, adding that it’s a “weird environment” given there are a fewother high-profile defendants at the jail, including “a lot of alleged ex-gangsters.”

“Obviously I’ve only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison,” Bankman-Fried says, “and he’s been kind to people in the unit. He’s been kind to me.”

“It’s a position no one wants to be in,” he says, adding, “it’s kind of a soul-crushing place for the world in general.”

“And what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than we are on the outside,” he adds.

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Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering for defrauding customers.

That case was promptly settled, but opened the floodgates for dozens of similar allegations of rape and assault. He faces federal criminal charges for alleged sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution and has been denied bail three times.

Combs has denied all accusations. His trial is scheduled for May 5 in Manhattan.

source: people.com