Prosecutors charged Michelle Bond with violating campaign finance laws. She is a former Republican candidate turned founder of a crypto think tank. Her fiancé, convicted ex-FTX executive Ryan Salam, is already serving more than seven years in prison. Salam is seeking to withdraw his plea and seeking to withdraw his plea. Prosecutors reneged on a promise not to prosecute his girlfriend.
Michelle Bond, a former Republican congressional candidate and fiancee of ex-FTX executive Ryan Salam, has been charged by the U.S. Attorney with conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions in her 2022 bid for Congress.
Bond faces three counts of conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions, receiving excessive donations, and receiving illegal corporate and straw donations. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison – a total of 15 years.
Bond received hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate funds and other sources to finance his campaign, According to Damien Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
She covered up her illegal activities by lying to Congress and other officials.
The charges came after Salam petitioned the court earlier this week to have his guilty plea overturned, saying prosecutors violated their agreement by continuing the trial on bond.
Salameh, who was sentenced in May to seven-and-a-half years in prison for violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, said the government had indicated it would stay the bond's trial if he pleaded guilty.
However, the lawyers rejected Salam's petition, calling it “legally meritless”. Williams said Salameh was trying to avoid punishment for what he described as a “campaign finance scheme on an unprecedented scale.”
Salameh is scheduled to serve his sentence in October.
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The charges mark the latest chapter in the FTX crypto exchange's $11 billion collapse in November 2022.
Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March over the scandal. Other officers, including Carolyn Ellison, Nishad Singh and Gary Wong, are awaiting sentencing.
indictment
Bond launched her campaign for New York's 1st Congressional District in May 2022.
At the time, she was CEO of the Association for Digital Asset Markets' trade group, while Salameh was an executive at FTX's Bahamas-based subsidiary.
Shortly after opening, Salam arranged a fraudulent $400,000 consulting contract between Bond and FTX. Bond used these funds, along with additional wire transfers from Salameh, to illegally finance her campaign. indictment.
According to the indictment, between June and August 2022, Salameh also deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars into Bond's personal bank account.
Bond hid her actions by making false statements to a congressional committee, the Federal Election Commission and her employer, prosecutors said.
In her House Ethics Committee disclosure, she reported the $400,000 FTX payment as consulting income, but her internal notes indicated the funds were intended to support her campaign.
Bond launched his pro-crypto think tank Digital Future in June and is a staunch supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Callan Quinn is Asia Correspondent for DL News. Got a tip? Email her [email protected].
Related TopicsFTXSAM Bankman-Fried