2024-10-12 01:20:02
Ryan Salame, once a high-ranking executive at bankrupt cryptocurrency company FTX, took to LinkedIn this week to share that he is starting a new position — as an inmate in federal prison.
Salame was the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, an FTX subsidiary based in the Bahamas.
FTX operated a crypto exchange and hedge fund before it collapsed in 2022 over a massive fraud scheme perpetrated by its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. SBF, as he is known, is currently serving his own prison sentence after he was convicting of looting the company he founded.
Salame allegedly received $55 million in loans from the company. He was accused of using money from FTX to donate to political campaigns.
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Salame pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an illegal money-transmitting business. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and agreed to forfeit $1.5 billion.
In an interview with The New York Times before he began his sentence, Salame claimed he had not committed the crimes he admitted to and said he pleaded guilty because of bad legal advice.
What Did Ryan Salame’s LinkedIn Post Say?
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Inmate at FCI Cumberland!” Salame wrote on LinkedIn on Thursday.
The post was in the form of a LinkedIn message meant to broadcast when a job seeker has started a new role. FCI Cumberland is a medium-security federal prison in Maryland.
Salame’s update has over 13,000 reactions, 1,200 comments, and 900 reposts.
“Today I learned people still used LinkedIn,” Salame wrote on X in response.
What was FTX Trading?
FTX was a centralized crypto exchange that supported trading for popular cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Investors could bet on the exchange using the FTX token, known as FTT. The token was traded on cryptocurrency markets in a similar way to how stocks are traded.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after it was revealed that customer funds were being misused. Allegedly, the company had been using billions of dollars of customer deposits to cover losses and fund risky investments by its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research. That revelation caused a run on the exchange and a mass withdrawal of funds that FTX could not fulfill.
A federal investigation ensued, and SBF was charged with fraud and money laundering, leading to a high-profile trial that has further eroded trust in the crypto industry. The case has been compared to major financial scandals like Enron, given the scale of the collapse and the regulatory scrutiny that followed.
How is FTX Tied to Sam Bankman-Fried?
SBF was the co-founder of FTX. He founded the company in 2019 with Gary Wang.
He was convicted on seven federal charges in 2022, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and campaign finance law violations. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Who is Michelle Bond?
Michelle Bond is Salame’s wife. SBF originally connected the two, who met for the first time at a group dinner during a cryptocurrency conference in 2021.
Salame and Bond started dating later that year.
Bond allegedly received $400,000 in consulting fees from FTX Digital Markets. Bond was running for Congress in Long Island, N.Y. at the time. Prosecutors claimed she spent the money on her campaign. She lost the Republican primary in August of 2022.
Bond has also been charged with campaign finance violations by the same U.S attorney’s office that prosecuted her husband. She was indicted in August and is awaiting trial.
Salame and Bond were married last month in Nevada in a small ceremony.
