Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has withdrawn a previous court filing accusing the US government of walking back its promise not to prosecute his partner, but a judge has scheduled a hearing on the matter anyway.
Salame is the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamian subsidiary of the bankrupt crypto exchange.
Last year, the former executive pled guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission, as well as conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. In May, a judge sentenced Salame to 7.5 years in prison, and he’s due to report to prison in October.
In a court filing last week, Salame claimed he cut a deal with the government and pled guilty to prevent further investigation against the mother of his child, Michelle Bond, a former Congressional candidate.
Later that week, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced charges against Bond over alleged campaign finance violations related to her unsuccessful run for Congress in 2022.
Williams said in an indictment that Salame organized a sham $400,000 payment to Bond from FTX, which Bond allegedly used to fund her campaign.
Salame’s lawyers claimed the government used the former CEO’s negotiations to threaten Bond and induce Salame into pleading guilty. Salame asked the court first to dismiss Bond’s indictment, but if that didn’t happen, to dismiss his own conviction and guilty plea.
The prosecution shot back, however, calling Salame’s accusation “demonstrably false” in a response.
“Salame entirely omits that the Government had a follow-up virtual meeting with Salame’s attorneys on May 25, 2023, to clarify the status of its investigation into Michelle Bond – whom Salame’s attorneys also represented – and spelled out, for the avoidance of any doubt, that a Salame guilty plea would not stop any ongoing investigation into Bond’s conduct.”
In a new document filed on Thursday, Salame’s lawyers noted that he was withdrawing his previous filing so Bond could bring up the issue in her own case.
The former FTX executive didn’t recant his previous accusations, however.
“To be clear, Mr. Salame stands by the facts set forth in the Petition and his accompanying declaration. Mr. Salame is withdrawing the Petition, however, to allow the facts to be developed by Ms. Bond, and a ruling to be made, in her case.”
On Thursday, District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan scheduled a September 12th hearing on the issue despite Salame’s petition withdrawal. He also mandated the former CEO’s presence in the courtroom.
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