Ryan Salame, the co-founder of the bankrupt FTX-affiliated FTX Digital Markets has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
FTX Founding Fathers In Jail
The sentencing of Ryan Salame comes after he pleaded guilty to criminal charges that led to the trading platform’s eventual collapse. Some of the actual charges against Salame include the conspiracy to engage in unlawful political donations as well as the running of an unlicensed money-transmitting platform.
Ryan Salame on his part cooperated with regulators and after pleading guilty, he had hoped to get 18 months in Prison. This marks a fairly reduced sentence compared to the minimum of 5 years that prosecutors suggested.
The sentence by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is the third high-profile sentence of a crypto figure this year. The highest sentencing featured that of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) who bagged a 25-year jail term.
While the Salame sentencing is just fresh off the courts, SBF has spent weeks since his verdict and he has expressed interest in appealing the ruling.
Binance CEO Joins The List
Beyond Ryan Salame and SBF, Binance co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has also scored a 4-month jail term. Binance’s milder sentencing stems from his guilty plea, and his offense not bringing actual harm to any of his exchange’s users.
The dynamics that led to the collapse of FTX drew a lot of community rambling with Salame and SBF losing many investor’s support. In his trials, Prosecutors argued that Salame engaged in several activities that helped to “burnish Bankman-Fried’s image.”
As of this month, there are no words on what the fate of other top executives of FTX and Alameda Research including Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh is after helping Prosecutors in testifying against SBF in his trial last year. It remains unclear whether Ryan Salame will also appeal the recently handed sentence.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, financial, trading, or any other sort of advice. You should not treat any of Crypto-Vanguard’s content as such. Crypto-Vanguard does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do your due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.