The US DOJ sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to 90 months, or 7.5 years, in prison on May 28.The New York Times reported that Salame will surrender on Aug. 29. His lawyers aim to have Salame serve his sentence at a federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland.Salame must also serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $6 million in forfeiture and $5 million in restitution.US attorney Damian Williams commented on Salame’s admitted role in illegal campaign financing and the operation of an unlawful money transmission business, stating that the sentencing “underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses.”In the New York Times’ account of sentencing, Judge Lewis Kaplan first raised Salame’s personal transactions, including $5 million and $600,000 withdrawals, during the collapse of FTX.Judge Kaplan said that based on Salame spending the initial amount on personal expenses and hiring a public relations firm, he intended to “[get] in the lifeboat first” to the detriment of customers.The judge also condemned Salame’s political financing crimes, stating that “political life in this country is in jeopardy” and that events at FTX worsen the situation.Meanwhile, the defense said that Salame was unaware of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud and described Salame as “merely a tool” of the former exchange leader. They also presented Salame’s life circumstances and explained how FTX’s collapse had harmed him.Judge Kaplan nevertheless upheld the need for a long sentence. The New York Times noted that the sentence is longer than the five to seven years sought by prosecutors or the 18 months sought by Salame’s defense lawyers.Salame became co-CEO of FTX’s Bahamas counterpart, FTX Digital Markets, in October 2021. Between 2019 and 2021, he held other high-ranking positions at FTX’s sister firm, Alameda Research.He conspired with other company executives to operate an unlicensed money business by moving FTX customer funds without a license and making false bank statements.Salame also conspired with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former executive Nishad Singh to illegally conduct more than 300 campaign donations worth tens of millions of dollars.Salame’s sentencing follows that of Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in March. Other FTX and Alameda Research executives, including Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, have also reached plea deals and have not yet faced sentencing.Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada’s West Coast.AJ, a passionate journalist since Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring, has honed his skills worldwide for over a decade. Specializing in financial journalism, he now focuses on crypto reporting. Stay ahead in the crypto game: Follow us on X for daily updates and analysis.The S-1 filing follows the SEC’s approval of NYSE Arca’s proposed rule change on behalf of ProShares.Rob Marrocco believes crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum are unlikely without first establishing a futures market or changing regulation.Ripple said Standard Custody CEO Jack McDonald would help the firm achieve its USD-backed stablecoin plans.The examinations will determine S&C’s awareness of FTX misconduct and potential conflicts during SBF’s Robinhood shares acquisition.CryptoSlate’s latest market report dives deep into the effects corporate Bitcoin purchases have on the market.Disclaimer: Our writers’ opinions are solely their own and do not reflect the opinion of CryptoSlate. None of the information you read on CryptoSlate should be taken as investment advice, nor does CryptoSlate endorse any project that may be mentioned or linked to in this article. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.
