FTX Co-Founder Ryan Salame Bags May 28 as Sentence Hearing Date

Former FTX Derivatives Exchange Executive Ryan Salame will face sentencing on May 28th in a New York courtroom. The sentencing hearing follows his guilty plea to criminal charges leveled against him for co-conspiring to commit financial fraud.

According to an update on the court docket released on Tuesday, Salame’s sentence proceedings will commence at 11 a.m. before Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Allegations Against Former FTX Exchange’s Salame

In September 2023, Salame entered a guilty plea on charges of conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business before Judge Kaplan. In line with this plea, his sentence hearing was originally set for May 1 but was rescheduled to May 28, as indicated on the court docket.

Prosecutors alleged that Salame and his co-conspirators coordinated over 300 political donations amounting to “tens of millions of dollars,” using unlawful methods such as straw donors or corporate funds. The term straw donor refers to someone who unlawfully uses someone else’s money to make political contributions under their name.

Salame, besides pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Elections Committee, Campaign Contributions, also acknowledged operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He got a $1.5 billion fine along with forfeiture of several assets.

Sentence Speculations

Other individuals who have pleaded guilty include former Alameda Research former CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang, and FTX’s former Engineering Director Nishad Singh, as they were all involved in the fraud case.

The sentencing of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, which took place last month, resulted in a 25-year prison sentence. Legal analysts say the guilty plea entered by Salame may do little in terms of jail time that the judge will hand down to him.

During the criminal fraud trial late last year, Judge Kaplan accused Bankman-Fried of committing perjury and condemned his actions as knowingly wrongful. Bankman-Fried had denied holding discussions with Salame or the others as regards donations to U.S politicians.

The FTX Exchange they forced into bankruptcy is trying to repay its investors. Since declaring bankruptcy, it has been able to recoup over $7 billion under the leadership of John Ray III.