Ryan Salame (born 1993[1]) is an American convicted felon who operated an illegal money-transmitting business. He was the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the FTX subsidiary based in the Bahamas. He was the founder of the American Dream Federal Action super PAC. [2]
Salame grew up in Sandisfield, Massachusetts. [3] He attended high school at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. [4] He earned Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Isenberg School of Management [5] and also Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015. He later received a master's in finance from McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in 2019. [6] [2]
Salame worked briefly for Ernst & Young. [2] In 2019, he started working for Alameda Research in Hong Kong. [2] He later became co-chief of FTX Digital Markets, FTX's Bahamas unit. [7]
During the primaries of the 2022 United States elections, Salame donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates. [8]
Salame invested over $6 million in Lenox, Massachusetts restaurants and real estate. [9]
During the 2022 bankruptcy proceedings of FTX, it was revealed that the company loaned Salame $55 million. [3] Salame’s girlfriend Michelle Bond received $400,000 in consulting fees from FTX Digital Markets. [10] Salame claimed to have learned about the impending collapse of FTX in the week before it filed for bankruptcy and to have vomited upon hearing the news. [11] In April 2023 the FBI raided Salame’s Potomac, Maryland home. [12]
In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an illegal money-transmitting business. He agreed to forfeit two properties in Lenox, MA along with a Porsche automobile, and to pay a $6 million fine and more than $5 million in restitution to FTX. [13] [7] Despite prosecutors recommending a term of 5-7 years, it was announced May 2024 that Salame was sentenced to serve 7.5 years in federal prison. [14]
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Ryan Salame (born 1993[1]) is an American convicted felon who operated an illegal money-transmitting business. He was the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the FTX subsidiary based in the Bahamas. He was the founder of the American Dream Federal Action super PAC. [2]
Salame grew up in Sandisfield, Massachusetts. [3] He attended high school at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. [4] He earned Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Isenberg School of Management [5] and also Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015. He later received a master's in finance from McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in 2019. [6] [2]
Salame worked briefly for Ernst & Young. [2] In 2019, he started working for Alameda Research in Hong Kong. [2] He later became co-chief of FTX Digital Markets, FTX's Bahamas unit. [7]
During the primaries of the 2022 United States elections, Salame donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates. [8]
Salame invested over $6 million in Lenox, Massachusetts restaurants and real estate. [9]
During the 2022 bankruptcy proceedings of FTX, it was revealed that the company loaned Salame $55 million. [3] Salame’s girlfriend Michelle Bond received $400,000 in consulting fees from FTX Digital Markets. [10] Salame claimed to have learned about the impending collapse of FTX in the week before it filed for bankruptcy and to have vomited upon hearing the news. [11] In April 2023 the FBI raided Salame’s Potomac, Maryland home. [12]
In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an illegal money-transmitting business. He agreed to forfeit two properties in Lenox, MA along with a Porsche automobile, and to pay a $6 million fine and more than $5 million in restitution to FTX. [13] [7] Despite prosecutors recommending a term of 5-7 years, it was announced May 2024 that Salame was sentenced to serve 7.5 years in federal prison. [14]
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cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)