The Insane Decline of Sam Bankman-Fried… What Happened?

Yeah he he said that he was going mad I Mean he kept using the words going mad Like of the relationships he's had with Women that Caroline and him were one of The more serious ones that you've had we Actually did talk pretty in depth about That and I don't think that there's too Muchly public about that today I Interviewed citizen journalist Tiffany Fong who over these last six months has Had exclusive access and irregular Meanings to the now under house arrest Sam bankman freed as the FTX founder Awaits trial for one of the largest Financial crimes in human history Allegedly Tiffany dishes the real dirt On Sam's relationship with Caroline his Experience for those eight days in Bahamian prison and before all that Tiffany why do you think Sam has been so Open with you I was shocked by that as Well like a lot of people do ask me this And I've asked them multiple times Because I think it's a little bit odd Too since I'm not some professional uh Well-known journalist or anything Um so I've asked him a few times and Tim Gives me a few different answers I mean The first phone call I had with him I Was like why are you talking to me Um and at the time I didn't even have a Big following I think I had maybe like Less than 10K on Twitter and like not I Don't know it wasn't that big uh and Sam

Was like well it was sort of a gut Instinct and he also said and he still Says that he likes that I'm independent He likes that I don't work for a Publication because he likes that I'm Not beholden to an editor or you know Have to represent a publication and he Said that he thinks that that means I Don't have to really stand by some sort Of status quo or you know say what my Editor wants me to say he said that I Have like Full freedom to kind of say whatever I Want and just make my own decisions on What exactly I want to say Um but he also said that he likes that Um I've been quite negative about other People in space like I've posted a lot Of uh can I curse uh hell yeah yeah like I've posted a lot of like [ __ ] you Alex Machinski like uh a lot of I don't know Staving things about the machine skis uh Because they were the he was the CEO of Celsius in case anyone doesn't follow That Um so Sam saw a lot of that back when he Started following me in September last Year and he said that he liked that I Was quite vocal against other people Because he thought that I I wasn't Someone who just uh I don't know he said That he liked that I spoke my mind so Yeah those are some of the reasons but I Mean also I mean even in our initial

Phone calls which was before I had ever Met him in person I didn't post the full Entirety of the phone calls but Um we I asked him like my interview Questions but we also just kind of Chatted about life in the we talked About like mental health and depression And uh Netflix shows and stuff like that So I mean I think that we built up some Sort of friendly Rapport prior to him Being on house arrest so she seemed Quite welcoming to have me over So what's like one of the biggest Takeaways you got from meeting with SPF Multiple times that maybe an average Person wouldn't realize I mean Is obviously very controversial everyone Wants me to just say [ __ ] that guy he's A fraudster uh he's a super villain like I want the truth yes I know that you Want the truth I will just say to him We'll just want to hear it like that I Finally the guy needs evil Um but I feel like just after spending a Decent chunk of time with him I'm like Personally I just don't see him as so Black and white obviously a lot of money Is gone a lot of people's lives are Ruined and hurt I'm someone who's lost Money as well in a bankruptcy but I mean I think that Sam's intentions from the Start were actually good I don't think That he like set out to just ruin

People's lives just to go buy like super Yachts and like set out to um just Enrich himself like I really do from all Of our conversations do think that he Really did Eventually intend to donate a lot of Money to charity a lot of people don't Believe that a lot of people think that Was just a PR stunt but Um he's shown me like some of his Writings from back in like 2012 up to 2016 like far before Um he ever started Alameda or FTX Um and he was talking about where he Wants to donate money and how his dollar Could best be spent to whatever charity So I mean that's something that like I I Do think his intentions were good from The start uh so I mean I just don't seem As black and white as like some super Villain so I mean that's one of my Takeaways from sort of getting to know Him over time And what drives Sam because even if you Want to donate all that money you don't Have to go so big so fast is it ego is It I want to beat my enemy CZ Like obviously when I ask him those Questions he's not going to give me the Answer it's my ego um he does give me The answer that like obviously I wanted To donate more money to charity and like Obviously if we went bigger that would Mean more money I'd be able to donate to

Charity so that's his answer he'll give Me I do think that there's some ego Involved in like a little hubris and Like I think that he did want to be the Biggest player and he he did feel some Competitiveness with CZ and like Um yeah we can see that in some of his Caddy sort of tweaks to be the like one Thing he told me he regretted was with Tweeting I think he he asked if he was Even able to come to Washington I don't Remember the contacts of that tweet but He sort of antagonized CZ and I think That there was rivalry there and I'm Sure that a lot of it is ego but I don't Think he would he would give me that Answer he certainly has never been like It was all my ego for sure what's like a Weird or intimate moment like when You're spending time at his house you're There for like five hours or more or Something like that like Is any like interesting stories how he Talks to his parents or how he plays Video games or eats Pizza bagels or That is funny I mean he's always like Snacking on random things I mean he he Loves he loves sparkling water yeah He's always drinking sparkly water fancy He's always eating his little impossible Burgers or his little vegan vegan foods Oh I think that I privately told you This little story when I like went over

And I was a little bit tipsy one day Because it was my birthday weekend but I Had planned to visit Sam like in the Evening that day but I had gone out to Drinks with friends beforehand and um I Was a little bit tipsy and uh I yeah Sam Had just eaten a bunch of like Indian Food and he had leftovers that he'd just Thrown away and I was like Sam I'm Really highly agreed to go and eat food And he was like all I have is The Leftovers that I just threw in the trash If you want to eat it you can So I ate uh I ate them's leftover Indian Food out of his trash can once when I Was a little bit tipsy that was a fun We've all been there and in the audience If you say you haven't you have you have And we will be there again exactly Austin and I are both going to bitcoin We lived in a bull market where we had That sparkling water now we're in the Bear market and hey we're open friends Only tap water Thing well I was just gonna say haters And please correct the haters haters Will say hey Sam Sam's just in Sam was Just in love with you he just wants to Get with you would you put would you put Those rumors to rest Um yeah there are obviously a lot of Rumors about that um largely sparked by The New York Post and the daily mail Um I I will say Sam's always been very

Respectful he's um he's never been like Someone who's being creepy uh he's been Very respectful uh but I mean obviously Everyone can come to their own Conclusions about Whatever they think is going on because Obviously I kind of understand it it is Odd that he's you know let me interview Him quite a few times uh and I'm not Some like famous journalist or a Reporter I'm no Michael Lewis I will say That I know Michael Lewis so I mean I I Get it so people can come to their own Conclusions there whatever I've kind of Just started feeding into the rumors and Jokes because after the first visit in The New York Post article came out I was Like nothing romantic is happening here Uh but people still get me so I'm like You know what let's just you guys can Say whatever you want might as well and Sam wishes Sam loves that Sam loves Being in the Press I I assume from those From when he was on top of the world Like in all those uh advertisements this Is true I mean I think he likes the he Likes the positive press he was Frustrated by a lot of the uh like Polycule rumors and the rumors about um There were a lot of rumors about his Drug use for example and I will say that Sam is not a partier by any means like I Think there are a lot of rumors that Came out when people found out that he

Used his M stand patches and like he has Like an Adderall prescription as well But I will say Sam is no partier Um he he uh the amp send patches are for Him trying to treat depression uh which Is something that Sam and I have spoken About he does struggle with uh Depression and has apparently for most Of his life and um he also has really Bad ADHD which is um why he says that Like I don't know if anyone's seen Interviews of Sam but he's notoriously Quite shaky and fidgety and he's Constantly playing with things even when I go over his house he's consulate Shuffling cards or you know playing with Random things on his desk but he says That that's just because he has really Bad ADHD but he's not a partier like I When I did go over that one time and I Had eaten Indian food I told him that I Was out at bars earlier and Sam was like Someone he was just completely curious It was like he was talking to like an Alien species and he was just like what Do you even do at bars and I was like I Don't know Sam like just grabbed drinks With friends maybe uh chat with some new People and make some new friends and he Was like you go and you drink alcohol And you just talk to random people like He seems like horrified So um he's certainly not someone who was Like over there having crazy parties in

Fact he told me that he's he hadn't had A sip of alcohol until he was already 21 And he only has maybe he says he has Like half of cider a year so he's not a Drinker he's not a partier a lot of Those rumors I think are totally false You know about the crazy partying Happening over there but his voice was Always Caroline did he ever mention Caroline Thank you thank you I'm proud of that One the pro this guy's a pro Um yeah we have talked about Caroline But it's like it's tough because them Doesn't go clearly on or off the Record Um but I know that some of those things Are like sensitive to his trial so I Don't know what things I can really Share about the Caroline stuff Um because yeah he hasn't been clear About like don't ever mention this but Yeah he's talked about Um him and Caroline um I think I can Vaguely say that they didn't necessarily End too well apparently Um so uh I I mean he he said that a lot Of the rumors that were happening uh When when it became public that Caroline And Sam were dating a lot of people Thought that they were conspiring Together and um to kind of defraud People and steal all this money but he Said it was more the opposite that like Because they didn't end on like the

Greatest of terms but we're still Working together that their Communication was a little bit uh shoddy And like if anything he said that that Like that maybe contributed to some Things that happened that they had kind Of poor communication Um but he does deny that they were like Feeling together while they were in a Relationship Um but yeah I guess I can say those Things I don't know what things are like Crossing a line because obviously the Caroline stuff is a big part of the Criminal charges and everything like That for sure and let's say nothing to Cross the line I don't want to know Anything legally but in terms of his Emotional connection Caroline did he Ever talk about man I there's this one Time in the balcony in the Bahamas I Kissed her and I thought it was real or Man we would always do uh this you know I don't want to get too you know this This is this is how we did it you know Whatever do you ever go into that Um Like if anything I mean one thing I Guess about Sam is that he He's kind of even said himself that he Has sort of a limited emotional range And emotional capacity so I don't see Him as someone who uh would ever be like I just fell head over heels and like I

Saw like this fireworks like I feel like He's not really that way like if Anything Um he said that like I'm not sure I've Ever really been in love I'm not sure Like what love relieves even supposed to Feel like and stuff like that so um yeah Like he he has said that they were like Of the relationships he's had with women That uh Caroline and him were one of the More serious ones that he's had so like I think it was quite serious but Um yeah he's he's kind of been like I Don't know if I've ever like really been Deeply in love with someone so yeah There's no like romantic balcony kiss That he's he's gone on about I think I Can speak for the whole audience when I Say Sam we're rooting for you guys you Guys are gonna make it you guys might Still make it she might have turned on And she might be cooperating with the Government against you but you guys Could still make it but that's love Sam Hey did he ever talk about his stint in Bahamian jail because I hear that was Tough he wanted to get out of there We actually did talk pretty in depth About that and I don't think that There's too much Republic about that but Um yeah he he said that he was going mad I mean he kept using the words going mad Uh in in the Bahamas in prison for eight Days and he said he was like he was like

It wasn't the uh poor living conditions Like he said that it was disgusting but He was like it didn't have anything to Do with that he was like that's Something I could get used to so he Didn't mind it being disgusting and it Like the floor is being moldy and Everything like that Um but he said that it was more just Like If he said that he'd struggled with Uh not being able to put his thoughts Into words that other people could Listen to which is kind of Understandable I mean we're all people Who are like tweeting all the time and Like talking on the phone to people all The time but he said that he wasn't Allowed any visitors other than his Bahamian lawyer a couple of times so I Don't think he was even able to see his Parents during that period so um I think He was just going pretty crazy like and Uh he said that he uh what did he do he Said that he would spend like 18 hours a Day playing sudoku like someone gave him Like one Sudoku book so he was just Going crazy playing sudoku for most of The hours a day uh he said he spent the Rest of it trying to go comatose so he Would just be like kind of laying around Trying to like Zonk out and not be Present Um and uh what else did he say he said

He wrote some letters to a few people But he hasn't named who those people are Um what else yeah he basically just said He was going mad and he was given one Jar of peanut butter because as most of Us know Sam is vegan and I don't think The prisons and Bahamas are particularly Open to or understanding of veganism so He said he like barely ate and he got Wonder our peanut butter and Occasionally like a huge flatter of Fruit which he would like share with his Other prison guests if he had leftovers Prison death prison inmates exactly Honestly though that doesn't sound that Bad for Sam for somebody who's living as A king you know probably that is bad but Like man I was really bored I couldn't Communicate with criminals Well like the thing about them is just He's got such a crazy busy mind like Right after prison he spent like Multiple days just like writing out all Of his thoughts because I think he just Had so much tent up like energy and he's Obviously very ADHD so I feel like for Him that is like the worst hell you can Be in like not being able to like type And be on the internet and like that Like for him that is that is hell Tiffany I want to have the trial for Sam Begman freed I think is still in October Later this year it's supposed to be in October I think his lawyers have like

Expressed they might want to have a Little pushback so it could be later but Right now it's scheduled for October I Want to have you back on when that trial Starts at least by then um to give us You know because I know you and Sam are Still close although he has new Restrictions on him um but just like Final thoughts about Sam or anything we Didn't talk about that you want the Community to know Oh god Um oh it took for me like even a Question it's hard for me to think of Final thoughts Do you have any more questions I mean I Have I have so many more questions Um do you what what um what sentence do You think Sam should get you've Connected with him emotionally you've Seen this you've had money stolen from You from Celsius so you get both sides What should be his punishment this is Probably like maybe controversial Um but uh I've even talked about this With like the machine Keys who I Personally hate a lot more than Sam and To be honest like I think that they're Worse people than Sam this is something That we can all debate obviously I'm Biased because I lost money to Celsius And I didn't lose money to FTX but I Mean just the way that the machinsky's Handled it after they had already ruined

People's lives Chrissy michinski was Making unbankrupt yourself t-shirts um They're still just prancing around at Conferences um Chrissy did a speech at NFTA NYC as if nothing had happened I Mean to be completely honest I'm sort of Like at least Dan like was profusely Apologizing to the point in which like He's getting for how much he's Apologizing it's sort of like a mean how Much to apologize but like at least he Kind of like kind of nosy dub has his Tail between his legs a little bit I Mean a lot of people didn't love his Media tour but Um I just I hate the machine skis more Personally just the way they felt with It afterwards Um but as a whole oh oh God I have a Tripod on my bed it's falling you can Cut this out Um as a whole uh I just am not someone Who cares to see white color prisoner or White collar criminals in prison for Life even the machines piece to be Honest Um like I want to see If and races and murderers in prison for Life but I'm personally not someone who Like wants any white color prisoner in Criminal in prison for their entire life So maybe that's a controversial Statement I think a lot of people are Like let him rot in prison for the rest

Of his life Um so uh You know I don't know what's I don't Know what's fair to be honest uh Certainly a couple years at least Obviously people with a couple years Um uh but I don't know like I don't I Don't personally like take pleasure and Sing a white color criminal in prison For life so uh that's probably Controversial people are probably going To disagree with me I'm not saying that I think he deserves a couple years I Just I don't know what things he's going To be found guilty of and what things he Won't be Um but I don't know what like what do you think Is fair Austin like you follow it at Least a bit I know that the fire Festival guy you know the conference That went Bust or the festival that went Bus fire Festival he went to jail for Like five years ten years something and Now he's back out and he has to repay All that fraud all those investors Um for the rest of his life until that's Paid back now Sam it's it's almost Impossible the amount of fraud he Committed yes that's the thing about These criminals who stole money from Allegedly stole money from people I'm Kind of like take all their [ __ ] Money give it back to creditors like I

Don't think that they should have any Money to their name and give it back to Creditors I mean I think their lives are Ruined enough that way and even just the Soap the social repercussions of all This like I don't think anyone's gonna Ever like if Sam wanted to start a Business first of all I don't think that He should ever be able to handle Anyone's money ever again obviously Um but I don't think I think that his Life is already kind of ruined but just To me as a creditor who lost money Personally I'm kind of like I don't get More money back by someone being in Prison I I guess the fear is that like I Hope they never ever defraud people Again and be fraud customers again I Guess that's the fear but just Personally like the people I want to see In prison for like extreme sentences are The people who are like actually violent Criminals or like dangers like physical Threats uh but that's probably a Controversial statement I'm probably Gonna get for that but no like I think That it's fair I guess comparing it to Other sentences obviously I think you Should probably get more than like the Fire Festival guy uh like you know I Don't know what like normal sentences Are it's just I would just say that I Just don't want to see anyone even the Mission fees in prison for life as much

As I hate the mission fees but like life To me just seems like too much what's Fair I don't really know enough about These cases and what normal sentences Are so it's hard for me to to give a Ballpark there I would love for all our Lawyers in the audience comment down Below give me your thoughts feel free Like obviously I think it should be fair And like reasonable and comparable to Like similar sort of cases although I Guess the most similar is people compare It to Bernie Madoff of a lot and he got Life obviously so I'm just someone who's Like I don't believe in like life Sentences for white collar crime Personally but uh I'm gonna use for that Probably hey we'll check the comments We'll be checking together Um Tiffany the links for all your stuff Are down below Um thanks for coming up leaving it off On the most controversial note that's Right yeah yeah I I use Twitter a lot I Have I made a YouTube channel last year So you can follow me there Tiffany Fong And on Twitter I'm Tiffany Fong with one Underscore

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