Ryan Salame, a former executive at FTX and the first associate of Sam Bankman-Fried to plead guilty to criminal charges, has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. This sentence exceeds the prosecution's recommendation of five to seven years and is significantly harsher than the 18-month sentence Salame's defense team had sought.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams highlighted the severity of Salame's actions: "Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law. Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system. Today’s sentence underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses."

Salame's defense argued that he was also a victim of fraud orchestrated by Bankman-Fried. “He has been a good man who has done much good in this world, who conspired to commit two crimes while in the thrall of a criminal leader,” his attorneys wrote in their initial appeal.

Salame pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He also faced charges of conspiracy to make illegal political contributions. His involvement with FTX began in 2019 when he joined Alameda Research after meeting Bankman-Fried at a blockchain conference. Alameda Research, FTX’s hedge fund, utilized its trading platform to trade thousands of digital assets, including major coins, NFTs, and altcoins. Salame eventually became the CEO of FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary.

The downfall of FTX in 2022 was due to mismanagement of funds, lack of liquidity, and a massive volume of withdrawals. FTX filed for bankruptcy as it couldn’t process all customer transactions due to low liquidity. Prosecutors allege that Salame helped FTX accept customer deposits through a U.S. bank account without the required licenses. The exchange also illegally used customer funds and funded Alameda Research’s projects and loans.

As part of his plea deal, Salame agreed to forfeit nearly $6 million worth of assets, including a restaurant in Massachusetts. Earlier this year, reports surfaced that FTX had accumulated billions more than necessary to cover customers’ potential losses, and the estate completed the sale of $2.6 billion worth of deeply discounted Solana tokens.

Other key figures in the FTX scandal, such as Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, are still awaiting their sentences, marking ongoing legal repercussions for those involved in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.