Ryan Salame's romantic partner charged with campaign finance offenses.

Ryan Salame's romantic partner charged with campaign finance offenses.
Ryan Salame's romantic partner charged with campaign finance offenses.
  • Ryan Salam's romantic partner, Michelle Bond, has been accused of campaign finance violations.
  • Manhattan federal prosecutors announced that Bond's unsuccessful run for Congress in 2022 led to the charges.
  • A day after Salame, the father of their eight-month-old child, asked a New York federal judge to void his guilty plea, the four-count indictment against Bond was unsealed.

Michelle Bond, the domestic partner of convicted former FTX executive Ryan Salame, has been indicted in New York on federal charges accusing her of conspiring to raise unlawful campaign contributions from FTX for her unsuccessful run for Congress in 2022, prosecutors announced Thursday.

According to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Bond, 45, received a "sham" $400,000 upfront payment from FTX to fund her campaign, followed by a $100,000 annual payment from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

Bond was seeking election to a House seat in New York's first congressional district, encompassing eastern Long Island.

On Thursday, Bond, a resident of Potomac, Maryland, will be present in Manhattan federal court.

A day after Salame, the father of Bond's eight-month-old child, asked a New York federal judge to void his guilty plea to campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes, the four-count indictment was unsealed.

Bond's lawyers assert that prosecutors breached an understanding to abandon their investigation into his campaign finance activities in exchange for a guilty plea.

Bond, an attorney based in or near Washington, worked as the CEO of a digital assets trade group and announced the launch of Digital Future, a think tank promoting the development of the next generation of the financial services industry, according to the indictment and a press release.

According to the indictment, Salame and Bond began dating in June 2021 and were in a relationship by early the following year.

The indictment claims that CC-1, who is identified as Salame, collaborated with Bond to commit the crimes. According to the indictment, Salame facilitated the payment from FTX to Bond and allegedly used "almost entirely" all of that money to fund her campaign illegally.

According to the indictment, Bond allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Salame between June and August 2022, which she used to illegally fund her campaign.

In the criminal trial of his former boss at FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, Salame did not cooperate as a witness, resulting in a 25-year prison sentence for Bankman-Fried in March for fraud and conspiracy.

During his time at FTX, Salame was accused of being involved in a multimillion-dollar campaign finance scheme, which led to the charges against him.

Salame will start serving a 7-and-a-half-year prison sentence on Oct. 13, in addition to paying more than $6 million in forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney wrote to the judge in his criminal case to request that the court reject Ryan Salame's attempt to renege on his guilty plea, which was made in a self-serving manner after his sentencing.

A hearing was scheduled by Judge Lewis Kaplan for Sept. 12 to consider arguments from both sides regarding the validity of the deal struck by Salame with prosecutors.

— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.

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