FTX Executive Ryan Salame Withdraws Petition To Vacate Guilty Plea

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Julia Smith

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Julia Smith

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Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

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August 30, 2024 15:18 EDT

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Former FTX executive Ryan Salame withdrew a petition to vacate his guilty plea on criminal charges related to FTX on August 29 in light of Michelle Bond’s indictment.

FTX Executive Reverses Petition To Change Guilty Plea

The former FTX Digital Markets Co-CEO initially requested to reverse his plea following news that his partner, Michelle Bond, was being investigated by federal prosecutors on campaign finance violations in relation to her run for Congress.

Salame reportedly agreed to plead guilty under the conditions that Bond, who is the mother of his young child, would not be looked into further.

In a filing with the United States Southern District of New York, lawyers for Salame claim that he will no longer seek to vacate his guilty plea following Bond’s August 22 indictment.

“Mr. Salame is withdrawing the petition so that Ms. Bond may raise the matter in her proceeding,” the court filing stated. “To be clear, Mr. Salame stands by the facts set forth in the petition and accompanying declaration. Mr. Salame is withdrawing the petition, however, to allow the facts to be developed by Ms. Bond…”

Ryan Salame and Michelle Bond’s Legal Troubles

Salame’s attempted plea reversal marks the latest chapter in a winding legal saga deriving from his connection to Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent crypto exchange.

Just last month, Salame was granted an extension on his prison surrender date after being mauled by a dog, resulting in him needing to undergo medical treatment and surgery.

“Got bit in the face by a dog (my fault, not the dog’s) and all I can think is I hope this surgeon isn’t a democrat who knows I’m a republican,” a June 29 X post by the one-time crypto executive read.

Salame was the only key crypto associate from FTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, who refused to testify against Bankman-Fried in a whirlwind late 2023 trial over the massive digital asset scheme.

Members of the crypto community feel his non-cooperation with U.S. prosecutors could have played a factor when he was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison in May.

“People lied in SBFs trial (doesn’t mean he’s innocent but truly problematic),” Salame stated in a recent X post, referring to the crypto scheme. “You aren’t aware [of] how corrupt the legislative process is (more to come).”

Salame is slated to report for his prison sentence on October 13.