Ryan Salame Under Fire for False Testimony Amid Plea Deal Dispute

September 12, 2024

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FTX co-founder Ryan Salame might face sanctions for providing false information about prosecutors’ commitments to him during his plea agreement last year. This update was revealed at the US district court hearing earlier today.

Courts Doubts the Integrity of the Ryan Salame Testimony

The ex-FTX executive was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in May after admitting to campaign finance violations and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in 2023. Salame then submitted a petition for a guilty plea, which was presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan at the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

In earlier today’s court appearance, Salame claimed that prosecutors assured him that investigations into his partner, Michelle Bond, would be halted as part of his plea deal. However, prosecutors contended that no such promise was made, as supported by emails exchanged within the Department of Justice.

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Bond was accused of accepting illegal contributions while running for Congress, with a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if found guilty. On the other hand, prosecutors contended that no such promise was made, as supported by emails exchanged within the Department of Justice.

Based on this new information, Judge Kaplan expressed concerns about the credibility of Salame’s guilty plea, suggesting that Salame misled the court, which could have impacted the court’s ruling.

Court Denied Salame’s Plea Withdrawal

Salame, who was behind Sam Bankman Fried’s woes in 2022, attempted to retract his plea withdrawal at the Manhattan court.

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However, the judge denied him. Instead, Kaplan interrogated Salame under oath for over 30 minutes, accusing him of misrepresenting the plea negotiations. Later on, Salame agreed to not being truthful during his plea agreement.

In 2022, Salame admitted to crimes involving deceiving banks to handle financial transfers from FTX customers for Alameda Research. He also oversaw a straw donor scheme that enabled him and other executives to unlawfully donate to political causes.

In the recent court ruling, the FTX and Alameda Research were asked to pay back $12.7 billion to creditors. Following this was the leniency petition recently filed by Caroline Ellison, the former co-CEO of Alameda Research. She was asking the federal court to forego a jail sentence for her role in the collapse of FTX.

FTX Faces Scrutiny on Path to Redemption

The defunct exchange has been trying to resolve its situation after filing for bankruptcy and the conviction of its former CEO, SBF. The company has been working on restructuring its operations and finances to navigate through these challenging times.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been quite tough on the exchange, requiring it to adhere to rules and regulations. Recently, the SEC issued a warning regarding the exchange’s plans to pay creditors in stablecoins.