Former FTX Co-CEO Ryan Salame's Partner Pleads Not Guilty to Campaign Finance Charges

Michelle Bond, the partner of former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame, pleaded not guilty to four campaign finance violation charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The charges include conspiracy to cause illegal campaign contributions, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, causing and accepting illegal corporate contributions, and causing and accepting conduit contributions.

The charges stem from Bond's alleged concealment of funding sources during her 2022 campaign for a Republican seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Salame allegedly arranged for FTX to pay $400,000 to fund her campaign, and Bond allegedly made false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Congressional committees. Notably, Salame previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 months in prison, but after Bond's indictment, he requested the court to withdraw his plea, claiming his guilty plea was based on the prosecutor's promise not to investigate his partner. Judge Lewis Kaplan stated he would consider whether to withdraw Salame's plea.

Currently, Bond remains released on $1 million bail, but her travel is restricted to the United States. Judge George Daniels has scheduled a pre-trial conference for January 2025. In the FTX and Alameda Research criminal prosecutions, as of September 18th, only Salame and SBF have been sentenced to prison. Sentencing hearings for other executives involved will take place in the coming months.