Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, must face federal campaign finance charges after a New York judge rejected her bid to dismiss the case.
Summary
- Judge Daniels ruled Salame’s plea agreement did not promise immunity for Michelle Bond’s campaign case.
- Prosecutors allege FTX-linked money illegally helped fund Bond’s failed 2022 New York congressional campaign bid.
- The case may become one of the final criminal trials tied to FTX’s collapse fallout.
U.S. District Judge George Daniels denied her motion in a court order tied to the criminal case in Manhattan.
Bond argued that prosecutors had assured Salame that she would not face charges if he pleaded guilty. Daniels rejected that claim. He wrote that there was “no ambiguity” in Salame’s written plea deal and said the evidence showed the government made no promise to shield Bond from prosecution.
Prosecutors allege FTX money funded campaign
Bond was charged in August 2024 over her unsuccessful 2022 run for Congress in New York. The DOJ release said prosecutors accused her of conspiring to cause unlawful campaign contributions and causing unlawful contributions.
Prosecutors allege Salame arranged a consulting agreement between Bond and FTX after she launched her campaign. Bond allegedly received $400,000 through that agreement. The government says she then used the money for her campaign, while Salame also wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to her between June and August 2022.
Salame plea remains central to case
Bond’s defense focused on whether prosecutors made a binding promise during Salame’s plea talks. Daniels said the record did not support that argument. He also noted that Bond’s former lawyer, Gina Parlovecchio, testified that she did not believe a statement from then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon was a promise at the time it was made.
As crypto.news reported earlier, Ryan Salame was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May 2024. He pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. According to an earlier crypto.news report, Michelle Bond’s indictment accused her of using funds tied to a Bahamas-based crypto exchange to support her campaign.
Bond faces four federal counts
Bond faces four charges. They include conspiracy to cause unlawful political contributions, causing and receiving a straw donor contribution, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, and causing and accepting an unlawful corporate contribution. Each charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.
The indictment also alleges that Bond tried to hide the source of the funds. Prosecutors say she made false statements to a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission. Bond has not been convicted, and the charges remain accusations unless proven in court.
FTX political case moves forward
The case keeps FTX’s political spending under legal review years after the exchange collapsed. FTX filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after a liquidity crisis exposed major gaps in customer funds. The collapse led to criminal cases against several former executives and placed the exchange’s political donations under federal scrutiny.
crypto.news previously reported that FTX political donations drew wider attention after the exchange’s collapse. In a previous crypto.news report, the Salame and Bond case was tied to allegations that FTX-linked money moved through campaign channels. Bond’s case may now become one of the final criminal trials connected to FTX.
