According to ChainCatcher, Michelle Bond, the partner of former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame, pleaded not guilty to four charges of campaign finance violations in the Southern District of New York Federal Court. The charges include conspiracy to cause illegal campaign contributions, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, causing and accepting illegal corporate donations, and causing and accepting donations from intermediaries.
The charges stem from Bond's alleged concealment of the source of funds when he ran for a Republican seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022. Salame allegedly arranged for FTX to pay $400,000 to fund her campaign, and Bond allegedly made false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and congressional committees. It is worth noting that Salame had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 months in prison, but after Bond was indicted, he asked the court to revoke his guilty plea, saying that the guilty plea was based on the prosecutor's promise not to investigate his partner. Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would consider whether to revoke Salame's guilty plea.
Currently, Bond remains free on $1 million bail but is restricted from traveling within the United States. Judge George Daniels has scheduled a pretrial conference for January 2025. As of September 18, only Salame and SBF have been sentenced to prison in the FTX and Alameda Research criminal prosecutions. Sentencing hearings for other executives involved in the case will take place in the coming months.
