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The first of Sam Bankman-Fried's associates to plead guilty to criminal charges has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.
This duration exceeds prosecutors' request that Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive, be jailed for five to seven years. Salame's legal team asked for a much lighter sentence, of no more than 18 months.
“Ryan Salame agreed to promote the interests of FTX, Alameda Research and their co-conspirators through an illegal political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmission business, helping FTX grow faster and bigger by operating outside the law. yestoID U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Salame's involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public confidence in U.S. elections and the integrity of the financial system. “Today’s sentence underscores the substantial consequences of such crimes.”
The main argument of Salame's defense was that he was 'cheated' like others for fraud at FTX and in its relationship with Bankman-Fried, according to Bloomberg.
“He has been a good man who has done a lot of good in this world, who conspired to commit two crimes while enslaved by a criminal leader,” Salame's lawyers wrote in their initial appeal.
Salame pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating a money transmission business without a license. He also faced charges of conspiracy to make illegal political contributions.
salami background
In 2019, Ryan Salame became part of Alameda Research after connecting with Bankman-Fried at a blockchain conference. Alameda Research was FTX's hedge fund and used its own technology and trading platform to trade thousands of digital assets, including major coins, nfts, and altcoins. Salame also became CEO of FTX's Bahamas affiliate.
In 2022, FTX collapsed due to poor fund management, lack of liquidity, and high withdrawal volume. FTX filed for bankruptcy because it could not handle all of its customers' transactions due to “low liquidity.”
Additionally, the exchange spent client funds illegally and also funded Alameda loans and research projects with illegal funds. Prosecutors allege that Salame helped FTX accept customer deposits through a U.S. bank account without having the required licenses.
Additional procedures
Earlier this year, as part of his plea deal, Salame agreed to forfeit assets worth nearly $6 million, including a restaurant in Massachusetts.
In early May, reports emerged that FTX had accumulated billions more than necessary to cover potential customer losses. FTX Estate also completed the sale of $2.6 billion worth of Solana tokens at deep discounts.
Others implicated in the scandal, including Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, are still awaiting sentencing.
