This week, some Binance fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their excitement that the exchange’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), was scheduled to complete his prison sentence on August 30. Unfortunately for them — and CZ — a quick fact-check reveals that he won’t actually be freed by that date.
On April 30, US District Judge Richard Jones sentenced CZ to four months in a Seattle prison, recommending Seatac, a prison and administrative security federal detention center.
Many observers apparently believed that CZ entered Seatac that same day, which would indeed have made August 30 his release date. However, CZ’s lawyers from prestigious law firms Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Davis Wright Tremaine, and Latham & Watkins worked diligently to ensure that he earned a few extra weeks of freedom.
Read more: No, Changpeng Zhao isn’t in prison yet — here’s why
As of May 16, CZ still hadn’t entered the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and it wasn’t until a few days later that CZ, his lawyers, probation, and pretrial services offices settled on a late-May entry date.
A current check of the Bureau of Prisons database also shows that CZ isn’t at Seatac but is instead incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc II, a low-security federal prison three hours north of Los Angeles.
When will CZ (actually) leave prison?
Unless CZ’s situation changes, he won’t be leaving FCI Lompoc II on August 30. Rather, his current release date is scheduled for September 29.
CZ’s Bureau of Prisons profile.
Read more: Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months in prison
As Protos covered last month, the US Constitution’s Fifth Amendment guarantees due process to all persons within the US, including non-citizens like CZ. This suite of guarantees includes all of the idiosyncrasies of CZ’s prison sentence, including his entry date almost one month after sentencing, his lower-security, non-Seatac facility, and earlier delays amid court proceedings.
