DOJ charges former FTX exec’s partner with campaign finance violations

Ryan Salame’s partner, Michelle Bond, faces multiple campaign finance violation charges

article-image

Dragon Claws/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Michelle Bond, the partner of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, was charged with violating campaign finance laws on Thursday. 

Back in 2022, the Department of Justice alleged, Bond launched a campaign for a seat in the US House of Representatives. 

She and Salame “orchestrated a sham consulting agreement between Bond and the exchange [FTX] pursuant to which Bond was paid $400,000. Bond then used that money to illegally finance her campaign. Further, between June and August 2022, [Salame] wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bond’s personal bank account, which Bond then used to illegally fund her campaign,” the DOJ’s press release said.

Salame, late Wednesday, filed to void his guilty plea after claiming that officials had gone back on their deal not to pursue an investigation against Bond. 

“Yet the Government failed to abide by its word, recently resuming its investigation into Bond and pursuing an indictment against her,” lawyers representing Salame said. 

The government, in response to Salame, asked Judge Lewis Kaplan — who also oversaw the Sam Bankman-Fried trial — to reject Salame’s filing.

“Salame resorts to inaccurate, incomplete, and outright false assertions in an effort to evade his serious sentence for his involvement in an illegal campaign finance scheme that was unprecedented in scale, and for his role in funneling billions of dollars through an unlicensed money transmitting business,” the government’s lawyers wrote.

The lawyers said that any claim made by Salame that the government agreed to drop an investigation into Bond is “demonstrably false.”

Salame is due to start a prison sentence of seven and a half years in October, after getting the date pushed back. 

Loading Tweet..

Bond was charged with “one count of conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions; one count of causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions; one count of causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution; and one count of causing and receiving a conduit contribution.”

Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

“As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives by illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate coffers, among other sources, and then lying to Congress and others to cover it all up,” US attorney Damian Williams said. 

Bond, outside of Salame, has her own ties to the crypto industry. Back in June, she launched Digital Future, a “public policy and advocacy think tank” focused on crypto, fintech and AI.

Salame is one of a handful of FTX executives facing jail time after the collapse of the exchange. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faced a trial late last year where a jury found him guilty on all counts. Bankman-Fried was sentenced earlier this year to 25 years in prison.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Luke Barwikowski took to Twitter to raise awareness about the threats against him and his family

article-image

David Chaum’s ecash in the 90s offers insights into balancing priorities in DeFi today

article-image

The forthcoming stablecoin was praised by BitGo’s Mike Bleshe as an advancement in “institutional-ready digital assets”

article-image

Chronicle’s Niklas Kunkel talked to Blockworks about the raise and why he’s prioritizing research

article-image

Sponsored

DESK isn’t just another trading platform — it’s redefining what’s possible in on-chain trading

article-image

The real strength of tailored AMMs might lie in their capacity to cultivate deeper loyalty and engagement within niche communities