DoJ charges Ryan Salame’s ex-girlfriend with violating campaign rules

Michelle Bond, former girlfriend of ex-FTX exec Ryan Salame, is in deep legal trouble. Federal prosecutors in New York have hit her with charges, accusing her of illegal campaign fundraising during her failed 2022 run for Congress. 

The allegations are brutal—Michelle reportedly tapped into FTX funds to finance her campaign, funneling the money through shady transactions orchestrated by Ryan. 

The indictment claims that Michelle, who was running for a House seat in New York’s first congressional district, secured $400,000 upfront from FTX. An additional $100,000 was promised annually from the now-collapsed crypto exchange. 

Michelle’s run for office was apparently bankrolled almost entirely by money that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

According to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, this wasn’t a small-time crime. Williams accuses Michelle of using what he calls a “sham” payment structure to line her campaign coffers with funds that were, by all accounts, dirty. 

Ryan, the man behind the curtain, allegedly wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to Michelle’s personal bank account between June and August 2022. The indictment says that this money was then pumped directly into her campaign, in clear violation of federal law. 

“The entire scheme was designed to bypass legal channels,” the indictment claims. Just one day before it was unsealed, Ryan himself was making legal waves, asking a New York federal judge to void his guilty plea to campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes. 

His attorneys argue that the prosecution had promised to drop their investigation into Michelle if Ryan pleaded guilty. Now, with Michelle under the microscope, it’s clear that deal, if it existed, is off the table.

Ryan and Michelle met in June 2021 and quickly became a power couple in the crypto world. By early 2022, they were publicly linked, and their ties went beyond the personal—Ryan’s influence extended into Michelle’s political ambitions. 

The indictment makes it clear that Ryan, referred to as CC-1, was central to the conspiracy. It was his connections and access to FTX’s funds that made the whole operation possible.

Michelle, who was an attorney in the Washington area, also held the position of CEO at a digital assets trade group during the period in question.

In June, Michelle even launched Digital Future, a think tank aimed at pushing the boundaries of the financial services industry. In a recent statement, she said:

“I’ve always been pro-innovation, and now more than ever the digital asset and AI industries need a strong voice, research, and advocacy to guide them toward a favorable regulatory regime.”

Ryan, meanwhile, is set to start a 7.5-year prison sentence on October 13. On top of that, he’s been ordered to fork over more than $6 million in forfeiture and over $5 million in restitution. 

His recent attempt to back out of his guilty plea has been met with harsh criticism. U.S. Attorney Williams didn’t mince words, calling Ryan’s move a “shameless and self-serving” effort to dodge responsibility.