Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has asked a U.S. judge to reconsider his conviction and prevent any potential indictment of his partner, Michelle Bond, alleging prosecutors failed to honor their promise to end the investigation into Bond as part of his plea agreement.
Bloomberg and CNBC first reported on Salame's court filing, which alleges that federal prosecutors used the threat of continued scrutiny against Bond, a former congressional candidate and mother of his child, to coerce his guilty plea.
“In an effort to induce Salame’s plea, Government lawyers conveyed that they would discontinue investigating Bond if Salame pleaded guilty, the filing reads. “Considering Salame’s manifest desire to protect Bond, Salame responded by agreeing to enter into a plea agreement.”
Lawyers for Salame argue the government “failed to abide by its word” by resuming its investigation into Bond and “pursuing an indictment against her.”
However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reportedly rejected these claims, describing them as self-serving and inaccurate. Prosecutors insist that Salame was explicitly informed that his guilty plea would not halt the investigation into Bond's conduct.
FTX Exec Ryan Salame Sentenced to 7.5 Years in Prison—But He Can Keep His Porsche
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday, making him the latest leader of the fallen cryptocurrency exchange to land behind bars for his role in its downfall. But the news isn't all bad for Salame. While the one-time lieutenant to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. was braced for a years-long prison sentence—delivered in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday—federal prosecutors said Salame can hold onto a lux...
Lawyers representing Salame told the U.S. Southern District Court of New York, “Relief should be granted because there are serious questions about the lawfulness of the Government’s tactics in trying to induce Salame to plead guilty,” per the filing.
Salame's allegations come as he prepares to begin his prison sentence later this year.
The former co-head of FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary was sentenced to 90 months in prison for conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission. He was also found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitter business over his involvement in FTX.
His plea deal was part of a broader investigation into the collapse of FTX, a crypto exchange that imploded in November 2022 under allegations of widespread fraud.
Alameda's Sam Trabucco Resurfaces to Defend FTX Exec Ahead of Sentencing
Ryan Salame, the former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, says he had nothing to do with the massive fraud that lost the exchange’s customers over $10 billion—and his “best friend” Sam Trabucco, who once led Alameda Research, has attested to that in writing. In a Tuesday court filing, Salame’s lawyers argued that their client was “not part of Sam Bankman-Fried’s innermost circle” who knew about the fraud at the center of the case. They compiled letters from Salame’s friends and family attesting to his...
Salame did not cooperate with prosecutors, unlike other top FTX executives, including Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, who testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried, sentenced to 25 years in prison in March, was found guilty of orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history, misappropriating billions in customer funds.
