Foreign media: Zhao Changpeng has not yet been imprisoned, and the start time of imprisonment needs to be notified by the probation or pretrial services office

Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, is not in jail despite receiving a four-month sentence because of some procedures in the criminal justice system, a world-class team of lawyers and Fifth Amendment protections for due process. According to the judgment signed by the judge, Zhao "should surrender to serve his sentence upon notification from the probation or pretrial services offices." Those offices have not informed Zhao Changpeng that he must enter the California prison.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3585 (a), an offender's sentence begins when the person is "taken into custody pending transfer or voluntarily transported to the official detention facility where he or she will serve his or her sentence." While the sentence may begin immediately on the day of sentencing, three possibilities for delay exist: 1. The judge may force the defendant to first surrender to the U.S. Marshals, who may then escort or later notify the offender when he or she will be in prison. 2. The judge may authorize the probation or pretrial services office to notify the defendant of his or her date of imprisonment. 3. The judge may allow the defendant to voluntarily go into prison. Judges generally reserve this option for defendants with the shortest sentence or least likelihood of escape. Changpeng Zhao received a second type of sentence. Since he was not sentenced to many years in prison, the U.S. Marshals did not immediately take him into custody. Instead, the judge gave Mr. Zhao the second most lenient option, awaiting notice from the probation or pretrial services office.