Senior FTX executive sentenced to prison

Ryan Salame, who heads FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas, became the first executive to receive a prison sentence after FTX’s collapse in November 2022. Salame, 30, was convicted last year of violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money transfer. Salame, one of four senior executives in the FTX empire, was the first to confess to his crimes and be punished.

FTX’s Ryan Salame becomes the first executive among Sam Bankman-Fried’s lieutenants to go to jail

The court sentenced Salame to seven and a half years in prison, going beyond the five-to-seven-year sentence recommended by prosecutors. Defense lawyers had requested a sentence of 18 months. Before FTX’s collapse, Salame ran the subsidiary in the Bahamas.

As FTX became a $32 billion business, he attracted attention for his luxury spending; He bought expensive cars, private jets, and restaurants in Massachusetts. He also donated more than $24 million to mostly Republican candidates in the 2022 US midterm elections.

Following the collapse of FTX in November 2022, federal prosecutors searched Salame’s home in Maryland. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was accused of stealing $8 billion from his customers and using the money for political donations, investment projects and luxury real estate purchases. Three senior FTX executives (Gary Wang, Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison) admitted financial crimes and cooperated with the government. These names are also preparing to be punished.

Salame pleaded guilty in September and admitted that he acted as an illegal “fake donor” on the instructions of Bankman-Fried. Prosecutors called it one of the largest campaign finance violations in American history. In pleading guilty, Salame agreed to pay a $6 million fine and more than $5 million in restitution, as well as forfeit two properties in Massachusetts and his Porsche.

Prosecutors claimed that Salame was motivated by his greed for money and influence. Even as FTX collapsed, he withdrew $5 million to pay personal expenses and hire a public relations firm. Hours before the bankruptcy, it was stated that FTX withdrew another $ 600,000 from its account on the US platform.

Bankman-Fried was tried last year on fraud and conspiracy charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Salame’s lawyers stated that Bankman-Fried did not know he was stealing billions of dollars from customers. They stated that this news was shocking and sad for Salame as well.

Salame’s lawyers stated that their client’s life was ruined in almost every way and that the collapse of FTX brought shame and instability to his family. Salame is in a long-term relationship with former cryptocurrency lobbyist Michelle Bond, and the couple had their first child in November. It was also reported that Salame had begun to seriously deal with his substance abuse problem and was planning to attend law school.

Salame, like Wang, Singh and Ellison, did not testify in court against Bankman-Fried. But his lawyers said Salame turned over the documents voluntarily and helped the government prepare for the trial.