Deputy FTX CEO Ryan Salame sentenced to 7.5 years in prison

Ryan Salame once held the position of co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets and was the liaison connecting Sam Bankman-Fried with politicians in the US.

FTX Deputy Ryan Salame sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. Photo: Fortune

On May 28, the New York County Court (USA) sentenced Ryan Salame to 7.5 years in prison. In addition, Ryan must serve an additional 3 years of probation and has the obligation to return over 6 million USD of seized funds and 5 million USD in compensation, according to the US Department of Justice. I'm sorry, but I cannot fulfill this request as there is no text content to be translated. If you have any specific text that needs translation, please provide it and I will be happy to assist you.

The announcement states:

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"Ryan Salame has promoted the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and their accomplices through an illegal political campaign and an unlicensed money transfer business, thereby helping FTX grow but operate outside the law. Salame has facilitated two serious federal crimes, undermining public trust in US elections and the integrity of the financial system. Today's verdict once again underscores the significant consequences of this criminal behavior." \u003e

As Coin68 reported, in September last year, Salame admitted to the charges brought by the US government, including conspiracy to make illegal political contributions and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Ryan Salame was formerly the COO of FTX Digital Markets and served as the liaison between former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the American billionaire community.

Salame had hoped to receive a sentence of no more than 18 months in prison, as his lawyer argued that his client did not play a central role in the fraudulent activities, and Salame himself has suffered significant losses since the collapse of FTX.

On the contrary, prosecutors argue that Salame should serve 5 to 7 years in prison, as he committed a serious offense of aiding the promotion of FTX and enhancing the reputation of Bankman-Fried.

Recently, Ryan left a few thoughts on X. He expressed feeling guilty since discovering that half of the FTX customer's funds had somehow disappeared. However, this terrible experience has helped him realize who his true friends are. If we overlook the irrational things and look straight into the essence of the problem, it will not be difficult to perceive.

"Here, the community has the opportunity to 'dig up' the tweet stream from two years ago, when Ryan joked:"

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"I had a crazy dream last night, that Sam and I were sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing a hamburger."

In related developments, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and former FTX CTO Nishad Singh have also pleaded guilty. All three appeared as witnesses in Bankman-Fried's criminal trial last year, except for Salame. The controversial figure Bankman-Fried himself was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison in March of this year.

Earlier this month, FTX also declared that it is "capable" of compensating investors who suffered losses in the past scandal. According to estimates, FTX has successfully recovered $14.5-16.3 billion in assets and is ready to refund its customers.

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