Crypto News Today- Ryan Salame of FTX sentenced to 7.5 years behind bars

Ryan Salame of FTX to spend 7.5 years in jail

Crypto News– The US Department of Justice (DOJ) sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to 90 months, equivalent to 7.5 years, in prison on May 28.

According to The New York Times, Salame is set to surrender on August 29. His legal team aims to have him serve his sentence at a federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland.

In addition to his prison term, Salame is required to 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 involvement in illegal campaign financing and the operation of an unlawful money transmission business, emphasizing that the sentencing underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses.

Kaplan confirmed the lengthy prison term

In the New York Times’ coverage of the sentencing, Judge Lewis Kaplan initially highlighted Salame’s personal transactions, including withdrawals totaling $5 million and $600,000 during FTX’s collapse.

Judge Kaplan remarked that Salame’s spending of the initial amount on personal expenses and hiring a public relations firm indicated a priority of [getting] in the lifeboat first to the detriment of customers.

The judge also criticized Salame’s involvement in political financing crimes, expressing concern for the state of political life in this country and attributing worsening circumstances to events at FTX.

In contrast, the defense argued that Salame was unaware of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud and portrayed him as merely a tool of the former exchange leader. They also presented Salame’s life circumstances and detailed how FTX’s collapse had negatively impacted him.

However, Judge Kaplan maintained the necessity of a lengthy sentence. The New York Times observed that the sentence exceeded the five to seven years requested by prosecutors or the 18 months sought by Salame’s defense team.

Salame played a significant role within FTX

Salame assumed the role of co-CEO at FTX’s Bahamas-based counterpart, FTX Digital Markets, in October 2021. From 2019 to 2021, he held various senior positions at Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company.

He was involved in a conspiracy with other company executives to operate an unlicensed money business, which involved transferring FTX customer funds without proper licensing and providing false bank statements.

Additionally, Salame conspired with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former executive Nishad Singh to unlawfully conduct over 300 campaign donations totaling tens of millions of dollars.

Salame’s sentencing comes after Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in March. Other executives from FTX and Alameda Research, such as Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, have also reached plea agreements but are yet to be sentenced.

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