Former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Ryan Salame is set to report to a federal correctional facility on October 11 to begin serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Despite his impending incarceration, Salame has been making light of his legal situation as the days tick by.
In social media messages since his sentencing hearing on May 28, Salame has hinted that he views his time in prison as an “exhilarating” experience, comparing it to a summer camp. His lawyers requested that he serve his sentence at the United States Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Cumberland in Maryland, a medium-security facility near his home.
Notable former inmates of the same federal facility include Jack Abramoff, a DC insider involved in a major lobbying scandal in the United States. He was released in 2010 after serving time for fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe government officials.
Salame, one of the FTX executives implicated in criminal charges following a stock market collapse, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission. He was the only person charged in the case, with Sam Bankman-Fried also named but not testifying during the trial.
After prosecutors brought charges against Salame’s partner, Michelle Bond, in August, he filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea. He claimed that US authorities had suggested they would not pursue an investigation against Bond under the terms of his plea deal. Bond and Salame share a child.
At present, Bond’s criminal case is ongoing, with both her and Salame out on bail. Salame has expressed that he is not overly concerned about going to prison.
Following the conviction of Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in March, Salame will be the second FTX director to face prison time. In a separate case, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison in September.
Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, other executives named in the same indictment, are scheduled to be sentenced on October 30 and November 20, respectively.
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