Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, who previously pleaded guilty to two felony charges, received a sentence of more than seven years in federal prison. On May 28, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York considered the recommendations from Salame’s legal team and prosecutors and ordered him to serve 90 months behind bars. This was a longer sentence than what the prosecutors suggested and significantly longer than what Salame’s lawyers requested. Salame, speaking publicly for the first time since November 2022, acknowledged that the situation would quickly become interesting but did not directly refer to his sentencing. He also indicated that he had no intention of fleeing the United States as his family was his top priority. Court documents revealed that Salame and his partner, Michelle Bond, had a child in November 2023.
According to Mark Bini, an attorney at Reed Smith and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Kaplan’s decision to impose a 90-month sentence, which exceeded the prosecutors’ recommendation, demonstrated the seriousness with which the judge viewed the fraud at FTX. Bini noted that the judge did not consider Salame’s cooperation and regret, as evidenced by his production of documents, as significant factors.
In recent months, two other prominent cryptocurrency executives, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, were also sentenced to prison. However, the judges in their cases imposed shorter sentences than what the authorities had requested. While prosecutors recommended up to 50 years for SBF and 36 months for CZ, the judges sentenced them to 25 years and four months, respectively.
Other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda Research may also face sentencing this year. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, who testified at SBF’s trial, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors. It remains unclear if they will receive prison sentences.
Salame’s case differed from the others as it involved violations of campaign finance laws during an election year. The political nature of the offenses may have influenced Judge Kaplan’s decision to impose a longer sentence. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams referred to Salame’s “unlawful political influence campaign” that eroded public trust in American elections.
Sunil Kavuri, a witness in Bankman-Fried’s trial, suggested that Judge Kaplan took into account the impact Salame had on FTX victims when determining the sentence. Prior to SBF’s sentencing, prosecutors submitted numerous statements from individuals who had suffered financially and personally due to the collapse of the crypto exchange.
Bankman-Fried is currently in a federal facility in Oklahoma, reportedly being transferred to a prison in California. Zhao, who was sentenced on April 30, has yet to report to a facility in Oregon or Washington.