Changpeng Zhao has arrived at a federal prison in California to serve his sentence

The former CEO of crypto exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao (CZ) arrived at a federal prison in California. This is reported by CNBC.

Zhao's defense team confirmed to the media that their client is in custody. He will serve his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc.

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FCI Lompoc is reportedly a maximum-security federal prison for incarcerated men. On average, offenders serve an average of one to fifteen years there for drug offenses and/or other non-violent offenses.

We previously reported that CZ has not yet begun serving his sentence due to the peculiarities of the legal process. He has not received proper notification from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

In April 2024, Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison. The former CEO of Binance pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Note that the sentence imposed was significantly less than the three-year term that federal prosecutors insisted on. In turn, the defense side asked for five months of probation.

CZ subsequently apologized for his “poor decisions” and took full responsibility for his actions. He sent a letter to that effect to Judge Richard A. Jones, who oversaw his case.

“I am very sorry. I believe the first step to accepting responsibility is to fully admit mistakes,” Zhao said in court.

After the announcement of the verdict, the former head of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance thanked the public for their support. He also said that he plans to write a book while serving his sentence.