Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame’s prison sentence was reduced by one year, with his current release date scheduled for March 2031, Bureau of Prison records show.
Salame pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and engaging in campaign finance fraud.
The former FTX executive was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on May 28, 2024 — placing Salame’s original release date around April 2032, after which he is subject to three years of supervised release.
Cointelegraph reached out to the FCI Cumberland correctional facility for comment on Salame’s reduced sentence but was unable to obtain a response by the time of publication. The reasons for Salame’s reduced prison time are unclear at this time.
Ryan Salame’s current release date. Source: Bureau of Prisons
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Salame’s sentencing
Salame’s attorneys initially sought a shorter prison sentence no longer than 18 months. His attorneys argued that the former FTX executive's asset forfeitures were already a significant punishment and claimed their client was unaware of the FTX fraud.
“Ryan, who was not part of Sam Bankman-Fried’s innermost circle, was unaware of the crimes at the center of this case,” Salame’s attorneys wrote in a May 14 sentencing memorandum.
The sentencing memorandum filed by Salame’s attorneys. Source: Court Listener
United States federal prosecutors initially sought to impose a sentence between 5-7 years for the former FTX executive.
However, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered a longer sentence of 90 months due to the serious nature of the case and the amount of monetary losses caused by FTX’s collapse.
On Aug. 21, Salame filed a petition to void his guilty plea, claiming that federal prosecutors backtracked on key stipulations within the original plea agreement.
According to Salame, federal authorities implied they would stop investigating his partner, Michelle Bond, for campaign finance violations if he pleaded guilty.
The former FTX executive said that despite the implied assurances from federal prosecutors, US authorities resumed investigating Bond.
After Salame’s failed attempts to void the guilty plea and delay the start of the sentence, he submitted himself to prison custody on Oct. 11, 2024, at the FCI Cumberland correctional facility — a medium-security prison.
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