**Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame Seeks to Void Guilty Plea, Claims Prosecutors Breached Agreement**
Ryan Salame, a former top executive at the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has asked a New York federal judge to nullify his guilty plea to campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes. Salame contends that federal prosecutors reneged on a crucial aspect of his plea agreement.
According to a court filing by Salame’s lawyers, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office had promised in April 2023 that they would halt their investigation into Salame's domestic partner, Michelle Bond, if he agreed to plead guilty. Salame, motivated by his desire to protect Bond—who is the mother of his eight-month-old child—agreed to the plea deal based on this assurance.
However, Salame’s legal team alleges that prosecutors have resumed their investigation into Bond and are pursuing an indictment against her, contrary to the agreement. They have requested that U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan either invalidate Salame’s guilty plea due to this breach or enforce the original promise to not charge Bond.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the filing.
Salame is scheduled to begin a 7.5-year prison sentence on October 13 and faces additional financial penalties, including over $6 million in forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution.
In a social media post about his filing, Salame expressed his concerns, stating: “It’s all true but I just made a court filing I’m pretty nervous about because I know it means the most powerful body in the world is going to come at me and my loved ones again, but I’m hoping it encourages more people to be honest and tell the truth and expose un-American.”
Salame did not cooperate with the FTX criminal investigation but testified at the trial of his former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of massive fraud and conspiracy. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March.
The charges against Salame were linked to a multi-million dollar campaign finance scheme involving FTX. Prosecutors chose not to pursue similar charges against Bankman-Fried after his conviction on related counts.
Three other key figures in the case—Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang—are also awaiting sentencing. Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, Singh, the former FTX engineering chief, and Wang, the co-founder and CTO of FTX, are scheduled for sentencing later this year.