Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has been sentenced to 90 months in prison following his guilty plea to criminal charges last year. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York. Salame will also serve three years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay $6 million in forfeiture and over $5 million in restitution, as per the U.S. Justice Department.

"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," stated U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. "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.”

In September, Salame pled guilty to conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He was formerly the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets and worked closely with ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Salame's defense had sought a prison term of no more than 18 months, arguing that he did not play a central role in fraudulent activities and that he lost much of his personal wealth when FTX collapsed in November. However, prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of five to seven years, asserting that Salame committed serious offenses to “foster the growth of FTX and burnish Bankman-Fried’s image.”

Other former FTX and Alameda Research executives have also pleaded guilty, including Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh. All three testified during Bankman-Fried's criminal trial last year, although Salame did not.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, was sentenced in March to nearly 25 years in prison following a criminal fraud trial. Judge Kaplan accused Bankman-Fried of perjury during his trial, stating that the former executive was fully aware that his actions were unlawful.