Second person in the FTX case sentenced to prison! Former executive Ryan Salame sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, higher than the prosecution's requested term.

The press release from the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday stated that Ryan Salame, former CEO of FTX Digital Markets FTX Bahamas, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleads guilty, ordered to forfeit $1.5 billion in illicit proceeds

Ryan Salame Sentenced to 7.5 Years in Prison

A statement reveals that Ryan Salame has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York for violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.

Ryan Salame was involved in illegal political activities and unregulated money transmission operations to benefit FTX and Alameda Research, aiding FTX in expanding its influence and scale.

The prosecutors in the case, as disclosed by Bloomberg Law, emphasized in legal documents:

Campaign finance crimes are among the largest in U.S. history, with unlicensed money transmission operations diverting over $1 billion of user funds without regulation.

Following the sentencing, Salame returned to the social platform X and frequently posted, inquiring if any media outlets were interested in conducting a public interview with him.

Prior to this, in November 2022, Salame reported FTX's fraudulent activities to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas and pleaded guilty to the charges the following September.

Why a Longer Sentence than Prosecutors Sought?

Judge Kaplan weighed the sentencing recommendations of four prosecutors, ranging from 5 to 7 years, and the defense arguments of Salame's legal team, ultimately sentencing him to 7.5 years, which is evidently longer than what the prosecutors requested.

In response to this, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Mark Bini, addressing the underlying reasons, stated:

Judge Kaplan's sentencing exceeding what the prosecutors sought indicates his view that Salame's direct involvement in a multimillion-dollar campaign finance fraud scheme was particularly severe.

He further added, "While Salame and his lawyers attempted to show remorse and cooperation, evidently Judge Kaplan did not accept it."

Additionally, as mentioned in the statement by Prosecutor Damian Williams, this case is one of the few in the FTX matter involving violations of campaign finance laws, and the political context of the case may have influenced the judge's decision:

Salame, along with SBF and former executive Nishad Singh, allegedly made illegal campaign contributions, damaging public trust in the U.S. elections and financial system.

However, despite facing over 7 years in prison, Salame may still benefit from the 2018 "First Step Act," where eligible nonviolent offenders can apply for parole after serving half of their sentence.

FTX Case Ongoing

Thus far, other prominent employees in the FTX case, including Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with legal proceedings, yet to be sentenced.

Furthermore, looking back at the recent imprisonment of two other cryptocurrency executives, former FTX CEO SBF and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) were sentenced to 25 years and 4 months in prison, respectively.

Before receiving a 25-year sentence, SBF's final words in court: "Sorry to my colleagues at FTX"