Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame Sentenced to 7.5 Years in Prison

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has been sentenced to 90 months, or 7.5 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, said in a release published Tuesday.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system. Today’s sentence underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses.”

Salame had previously pled guilty to conspiracy for unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, with the hopes of getting leniency from the court and a shorter prison sentence of 18 months.

When asking for leniency and a shorter sentence, his attorneys noted Salame initiated the FTX investigation, cooperated with U.S. authorities, and faces lifelong stigma due to FTX’s collapse.

In addition, Salame was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $6 million in forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution.

Former Alameda-FTX executives Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang also pled guilty and sought plea deals to avoid jail.