Ryan Salame, a former executive at collapsed crypto outfit FTX, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
In September, Salame pled guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Salame was a close ally to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who in March was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion from customers. Between 2019 and 2021, Salame was a high-ranking official at Bankman-Fried's quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research. In 2021 he became c-CEO of FTX Digital Markets.
US Attorney Damian Williams says: “Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law. Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system."
In addition to a 90 month prison sentence, Salame faces three years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay more than $6 million in forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution.