U.S. prosecutors seek five to seven year sentence for FTX’s Ryan Salame

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame faced five to seven years in prison as prosecutors stressed the seriousness of his criminal activities.

Federal prosecutors have recommended that former FTX executive Ryan Salame be sentenced to five to seven years in prison for his involvement in the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange. In a sentencing memorandum filed in federal court in Manhattan, U.S. prosecutors emphasized that Salame “committed serious crimes and that a significant sentence is necessary to ensure that Salame receives a fair sentence,” according to Bloomberg.

“Campaign finance crime is one of the largest crimes in American history, and the unlicensed money transfer business processed more than $1 billion in transactions without proper oversight.”

US prosecutors

Salame, who pleaded guilty to charges of violating campaign finance law and operating an unlicensed money transfer business, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28. Other important names in the scandal, such as Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, are still awaiting their sentences.

Meanwhile, Salame’s legal team is trying to appeal the sentencing recommendation, emphasizing his cooperation with authorities.

“He was a good man who did a lot of good in this world, who conspired to commit two crimes while in captivity of a criminal leader.”

Salame’s lawyers

As part of his plea agreement, Salame agreed to forfeit assets worth about $6 million, including a restaurant in Massachusetts.

Ryan Salame joined FTX’s hedge fund Alameda Research in 2019 after meeting Bankman-Fried at a blockchain conference. He later became CEO of FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas. Prosecutors allege it was Salame who helped FTX accept customer deposits through a U.S. bank account without the necessary licenses. Salame also acted as a straw donor, contributing millions in political donations, according to the report.

FTX collapsed in November 2022 amid allegations of embezzlement and misuse of billions of dollars in client funds involving its owners and affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research. The exchange’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay back $11 billion.

In early May, reports emerged stating that FTX had raised billions of dollars more than needed to cover its crash-related losses; It was a development that FTX CEO John Ray praised as an “incredible result” that showed the exchange was ready to issue full refunds to its more than 2 million customers.