The U.S. prosecutors called for a “just punishment” proportional to the scale of the crime as opposed to Salame’s lawyers, who argued for a sentence of not more than 18 months.
In a recent turn of events, U.S. federal prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence of five to seven years for Ryan Salame, a former executive of FTX and wingman of the exchange’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), for crimes that led to the collapse of the company.
The executive, who held a senior position at FTX, has been accused of multiple charges, including fraud, conspiracy, and violations of federal securities laws. The charges arise from accusations that Salame, in collaboration with other senior officials at FTX, engaged in financial misconduct that eventually led to the loss of billions of dollars of investors’ fund.
A Just Punishment
On May 21, federal prosecutors submitted a sentencing memo in a Manhattan federal court, calling for a strict sentence for Salame following his guilty plea to committing “illegal practices” related to the misappropriation of FTX investors’ funds.
According to the court filing, the U.S. prosecutors called for a “just punishment” proportional to the scale of the crime as opposed to Salame’s lawyers, who argued for a sentence of not more than 18 months.
“The campaign finance offense is one of the largest-ever in American history, and the unlicensed money transmitting business exchanged more than $1 billion without proper supervision,” the prosecutor said.
Salame’s Inability to Testify
Salame joined Alameda Research in Hong Kong in 2019 and became CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamas-based subsidiary.
On April 1, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison after his conviction on seven felony charges. Salame was the only one who did not testify at Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial.
Salame’s court sentencing is scheduled for May 28 for conspiring with SBF in siphoning over $10 billion of users’ funds. “Only a meaningful period of incarceration can adequately deter the defendant and others and promote respect for the law,” the prosecutor added.
Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, other key figures in the FTX fraud, await sentencing.