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Julia Smith
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Julia Smith
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Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, accused the federal government on May 7 of using “stealth and deception” to solicit a plea agreement from her husband regarding charges stemming from his time at FTX, new court documents show.
Michelle Bond Pushes Back Against Plea Deal
According to a filing from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bond claims federal prosecutors used deception to secure Salame’s plea deal based on a “promise” that she would not face campaign finance prosecution tied to her 2022 congressional campaign if he pleaded guilty.
“The government cannot use its overwhelming bargaining advantage to coerce a plea agreement and then fail to live up to its terms,” the Wednesday court filing reads.
“It cannot mislead a defendant into believing there is no active investigation in the hopes of obtaining statements of the defendant that it can use later to his or her detriment,” the document continues.
Ryan Salame Sees 7 Years Behind Bars
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Bond was charged with violating campaign finance laws in August 2024 over a “sham consulting agreement” with crypto exchange FTX orchestrated by Salame that saw her “illegally fund her campaign” with her payout.
“Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives by illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate coffers, among other sources, and then lying to Congress and others to cover it all up,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Bond’s indictment came just months before Salame began his over seven-year federal prison sentence for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting service and conspiring to make unlawful political contributions.
Despite the lengthy prison term, Salame had no knowledge of Sam Bankman-Fried’s massive FTX fraud scheme that saw the crypto founder sent to prison for 25 years.
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