In This Article
- Ryan Salame's Legal Team Believe US Attorney's Office Pressured Their Client Into A Guilty Plea
- Prosecution Hit Back With A 32-Page Dossier Rejecting The Former FTX Executive's Claims
- Sam Bankman-Fried's Former Girlfriend, Caroline Ellison Is Hoping For No Prison Time At Her Own Sentencing Later This Month
Ryan Salame, a former executive of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, is scheduled to return to court on Thursday. Judge Lewis Kaplan is seeking more information regarding the behind-the-scenes activities that resulted in Salame’s criminal plea agreement, which led to a prison sentence of 7.5 years.
Fun fact. SBF didn't lend me money from Alameda, Caroline did (plus Dan + Can – the lawyers). Why is she not in trouble for campaign finance fraud?
— Ryan Salame (@rsalame7926) September 10, 2024
Attorneys for Salame, a former executive of Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange, requested last month that Judge Kaplan set aside the defendant’s guilty plea to campaign finance and money-transmitting offenses from 2023. Salame’s legal team argued that the prosecution was not upholding their side of the agreement.
Ryan Salame’s Legal Team Believe US Attorney’s Office Pressured Their Client Into A Guilty Plea
In a bid to get their client to plead guilty to the charges, Salame’s legal team claimed in a court filing that the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office informed Salame in April 2023 that they would cease looking into his partner, Michelle Bond, for campaign finance violations if he agreed to the arrangement.
Bond is a former SEC attorney and was charged in August with campaign financing offenses related to her failed 2022 congressional bid. Salame then requested that Judge Kaplan revoke Bond’s plea. Just one day later, the four-count indictment against Bond was made public.
Prosecution Hit Back With A 32-Page Dossier Rejecting The Former FTX Executive’s Claims
However, Salame swiftly changed his mind. Within a few days, he submitted a motion to the court to withdraw the petition to overturn his guilty conviction. In retaliation, prosecutors produced a 32-page document last week dismissing the allegations made in Salame’s initial complaint.
Judge Kaplan has made Salame’s attendance at the hearing a condition of his bail. In May, the judge imposed a more severe punishment than the five to seven-year term previously recommended by the prosecution.
A leg injury reportedly postponed Salame’s surrender to prison. He is now scheduled to report to jail sometime in late October.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Former Girlfriend, Caroline Ellison Is Hoping For No Prison Time At Her Own Sentencing Later This Month
Caroline Ellison
Sentence Date: Sept 24
Caroline hopes to avoid any prison time by highlighting her “extraordinarily impactful” cooperation in the investigation over the last few years.
She deserves no less than 5 years just simply for not hedging her book. pic.twitter.com/V83bT7fbZt
— Batsy (@Batsy0x) September 11, 2024
In other FTX-related news, Caroline Ellison, a former top executive at FTX and former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, requests no prison time at her sentencing later this month.
Ellison’s legal team filed the request shortly before midnight on Tuesday (September 10) in Manhattan federal court. The filing was made in advance of her sentencing scheduled for September 24.
Lawyers for Ellison believe the calls for no prison time have merit due to her immediate and extensive cooperation with authorities during and after the collapse of FTX in November 2022. They also noted that the court’s Probation Department recommended that she serve no prison time.
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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