Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, is pushing for dismissal

Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, who faces federal campaign finance charges, is pushing for dismissal

Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, who faces federal campaign finance charges, is pushing for dismissal of the case on the grounds that US prosecutors deceived her husband in a plea deal.

In a May 7 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bond’s lawyers, from the firm Katris, Hall, and McGregor, made some of the claims Salame made in opposing his plea deal with the government, which ultimately still led to him serving time in prison. They claimed that prosecutors obtained a deal with Salame through “stealth and deception” by allegedly agreeing they would not file charges against Bond.

“Mr. Salame and Ms. Bond’s attorneys were advised that the agreement to cease investigating Ms. Bond could not be placed within the four corners of the Salame plea or other written agreement, but the government still offered it as an inducement to induce the plea,” said the filing, adding:

“The government’s alleged misstatements to Mr. Salame’s attorneys were material. Had Mr. Salame known that the government was going to pursue charges against Ms. Bond in August 2024, he would not have entered the plea in January 2023, and he would not have advised Ms. Bond to run for Congress.”

Prosecutors charged Bond in August 2024 with conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution, and causing and receiving a conduit contribution. The charges are related to Bond’s failed run as a Republican candidate for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2022. Salame, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in 2023 and was later sentenced to more than seven years in prison, attempted to void his deal with prosecutors, claiming it had included an agreement not to charge Bond.

The May 7 filing requested the court suppress any statements Bond made after the alleged “inducement” in Salame’s deal. Salame made similar claims in court filings attempting to nullify his plea, but later dropped the matter and reported to prison in October 2024.

Bond’s campaign finance charges came after she announced her candidacy for Congress in 2022. She dropped out of the race in November 2022 after reports that House Republicans were planning an investigation into the campaign.

The indictment against Bond alleged she filed reports to the Federal Election Commission with false information about the funds used for her campaign. It also claimed she and another person engaged in a scheme to funnel money into her campaign from a corporation, which is illegal.

The complaint stated that Salame allegedly authorized the use of FTX funds for political contributions. It added that the former FTX executive had agreed to advise his attorneys on the scope of the plea, and that prosecutors had promised not to bring charges against members of Salame’s family or household in the Southern District of New York.

However, the filing claimed that the prosecutors "deliberately deceived" Salame’s attorneys into believing that they would not be able to file charges against Bond. It stated that, "in fact, the government had no intention of honouring its commitment not to charge Ms. Bond."

According to the filing, Salame’s attorneys repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility of charges against Bond, and that prosecutors responded by saying they would not be able to include an agreement not to charge her in any written plea agreement. The filing claimed that prosecutors had no intention of filing charges against Bond at the time of Salame’s plea, but they later decided to pursue charges.

The filing argued that the new campaign finance charges against Bond are a continuation of the same scheme for which Salame was charged. It claimed that Salame was attempting to withdraw his plea and that he would be able to identify the identity of the person who allegedly deceived him.

The FTX saga continues

Since the collapse of FTX in 2022, nearly all former executives indicted on charges related to the misuse of the crypto exchange’s funds have had their day in court.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who pleaded not guilty, went through a trial in 2023 and was later sentenced to 25 years in prison. His lawyers filed a notice of appeal, and reports suggested he may be seeking a pardon from US President Donald Trump.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to two years in prison in September 2024 as part of a plea deal and began serving her time in November. Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, former FTX executives who also pleaded guilty to charges, were each sentenced to time served in 2024.