Salame, formerly the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is currently being held at FCI Cumberland in Maryland since Saturday morning, according to information on the website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This prison is described as a "Medium security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp". It has over 1000 inmates, according to its website.
On Thursday, Salame shared a post on LinkedIn, seemingly mocking his situation: "I'm excited to announce that I'm starting a new role as an Inmate at FCI Cumberland".
Salame pleaded guilty in September to charges of illegal political contributions as well as operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He had worked closely with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison in March after a criminal trial late last year on fraud charges. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced to 2 years in prison last month for her role in the FTX collapse.
Denial of sentencing delay due to dog bite
At the last minute, Salame's lawyers had asked the court on Wednesday to allow him to start his prison term on December 7 to receive medical care after being injured by a dog over the summer. Previously, Salame had requested a delay in his prison term from August to October for emergency surgery following the dog incident, and the court had granted it. Salame's lawyer said he had seen a doctor on July 3 and was evaluated "after sustaining injuries from a dog bite to the face", according to a prior filing.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Salame's request on Friday and said it appeared Salame had "recovered substantially", pointing to a recent interview he had conducted with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
"Recently, he participated in a videotaped interview with Tucker Carlson, in which he also appeared healthy and fully unimpaired in responding to questions," Kaplan said.
In that interview, Salame criticized the judge and said he had "caught all the untruths", including when Salame said he had withdrawn money before FTX filed for bankruptcy. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Kaplan said Salame had put himself first, saying, "I'll get on the lifeboat first. To hell with all those customers," according to multiple news reports.
"The whole thing is just bizarre, the whole experience of it," Salame said.
Salame's partner also faces charges
Salame's partner, Michelle Bond, is also facing charges. She was criminally charged in August with conspiracy in an alleged illegal campaign finance scheme.
Bond unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. House seat in New York's 1st district as a Republican in 2022. Prosecutors said Bond's romantic partner, who was described as a "senior executive at a Bahamas-based subsidiary of a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange", had orchestrated a "sham consulting agreement" between Bond and the exchange.
Through that agreement, Bond was paid $400,000 which she was later alleged to have used to illegally finance her campaign, according to the indictment.
Salame has vehemently contested the charges against Bond, accusing prosecutors of using the plea negotiations to "threaten" his partner and 8-month-old child, further claiming he only pleaded guilty with the promise that the government would halt the investigation into Bond. Salame has asked for the dismissal of the charges against his partner or, alternatively, the dismissal of his own sentence. Prosecutors said Salame's request was "factually unsupported" and stated they had made clear in a May 2023 meeting that his plea would not stop the investigation into Bond.
Salame said in the Carlson interview that he plans to teach a course on digital assets and the economy during his time in prison.
The article Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame Begins 7.5-Year Prison Sentence first appeared on Coin79 - Crypto News and Investment Knowledge.
