In what might be the strangest prison friendship endorsement of the year, convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried is celebrating President Donald Trump's decision to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. The two became friends while sharing a dormitory at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, and SBF is calling Hernández's drug trafficking conviction a complete "travesty."
An Unlikely Prison Friendship
Through an X account managed by his friends, Bankman-Fried described Hernández as "one of the kindest and most dedicated people" he'd ever met. The FTX founder said they became friends "under the worst possible circumstances," which is one way to describe being housed together in a high-profile federal detention facility.
"I couldn't be more glad for him — it's a travesty he was arrested in the first place," SBF wrote about his former dormmate.
The Drug Trafficking Case
Hernández, who served as Honduras's president from 2014 through 2022, was convicted by a federal jury in 2024 on cocaine conspiracy and weapons counts. U.S. authorities extradited him in 2022, accusing him of protecting violent drug traffickers and facilitating massive cocaine shipments over many years. Prosecutors argued he used state power to aid cartel networks throughout his presidency.
Trump announced plans to issue a "full and complete" pardon, claiming Hernández received unfair treatment from prosecutors.
SBF's Own Legal Troubles
It's worth noting that Bankman-Fried's character references come with some credibility issues. The fallen crypto mogul, who once promised to "build the future of finance," is currently serving a 25-year sentence for his own spectacular fraud. He was convicted of misappropriating billions in customer funds from his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, using the money for personal expenses, political contributions, and venture capital investments.
The collapse of FTX triggered a massive bank run and contributed to a brutal crypto bear market that sent Bitcoin (BTC) plummeting to new lows. His projected release date is four years earlier than his sentence suggests, thanks to good conduct credits.
So when SBF vouches for someone's innocence, take it with a grain of salt. Then again, prison does give you time to really get to know people.