FTX Executive Ryan Salame’s Guilty Plea Under Scrutiny as Judge Expresses Anger Over False Testimony

In a dramatic hearing on Thursday, a federal judge expressed his anger at former FTX executive Ryan Salame, threatening sanctions for what he described as false testimony during Salame's guilty plea last year.

A federal judge has expressed his anger at former FTX executive Ryan Salame over false testimony during his guilty plea last year, threatening sanctions.

In a dramatic hearing on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan addressed Salame's claims that federal prosecutors had made promises to him regarding his plea agreement.

According to CNBC, the proceedings took place in the US District Court in Manhattan, where Kaplan highlighted Salame's statements during his guilty plea in March 2023.

During that hearing, Salame had stated that prosecutors had offered him no inducements to plead guilty to campaign finance and money transmission violations.

However, as reported by Bitcoinist, Salame's legal team later filed a motion to vacate his guilty plea, arguing that prosecutors had breached their agreement by continuing their criminal investigation into Salame's romantic partner, Michelle Bond.

According to the motion, prosecutors had assured Salame, through his former attorneys, that the investigation into Bond would be dropped if he agreed to plead guilty.

During Thursday's hearing, Kaplan, "visibly frustrated," stated:

“You are asking me to let stand a conviction and sentence that I now know is based on false testimony before me in the plea allocution.”

He emphasized the importance of truthfulness during plea hearings, where defendants must disclose any promises made to them in exchange for their guilty pleas.

“Salame induced me to accept his guilty plea,” the judge repeated, indicating that this situation could have serious implications for Salame's case.

As the hearing progressed, Kaplan indicated that he would take time to consider the appropriate actions against Salame, including the possibility of sanctions.

Salame's legal team had previously filed a motion to void his 2023 guilty plea, arguing that prosecutors had failed to uphold their end of the agreement regarding Bond.

According to the motion, despite assurances given in April 2023 that the investigation into Bond for campaign finance violations would be dropped, it continued, leading to her indictment shortly after.

Bond is accused of conspiring to raise "illegal campaign contributions" from the defunct FTX exchange during her 2022 congressional campaign.

The indictment alleges that Salame wired large sums of money to Bond's account, which she allegedly used to illegally fund her campaign.

Following Bond's indictment, Salame reportedly decided to withdraw his motion to vacate his guilty plea, and during the hearing, he stated that he no longer wished to pursue this course of action.

Judge Kaplan then ordered Salame to report to prison by October 11, adjusting the original surrender date.

At the time of writing, FTX's native token FTT is trading at $1.311, up 1.4% in the 24-hour time frame and the same amount every month, as the broader crypto market approaches recovery.

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