Crypto
Two FTX executives convicted for their roles in the massive cryptocurrency scandal that began with their company’s implosion are slated to be let out of jail ahead of schedule.
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Ryan Salame, who led FTX’s Bahamas-based subsidiary FTX Digital Markets, reported to federal prison in October to begin a more than seven-year sentence for his role in the crypto scheme launched by his former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried. Salame was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to criminal charges related to FTX’s collapse in 2022.
However, his sentence has already been reduced. According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, Salame is expected to be released on March 1, 2031, more than a year ahead of his initial release date of April 2032. He’s serving his sentence in a medium-security prison in Maryland.
“Every incarcerated individual earns Good Conduct Time (GCT), which is projected on their release date,” a spokesperson for the bureau told Business Insider, which first reported Salame’s updated release date, adding that individuals can earn up to 54 days of GCT for each year of their court-imposed sentence.
Caroline Ellison, who led FTX’s hedge fund arm, Alameda Research, and was once Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend, was sentenced to two years in prison after she pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. She was also a key witness against Bankman-Fried, who has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud.
Read More: The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, from cryptocurrency fame to prison sentence
Ellison reported to federal prison last month to serve her sentence at a low-security prison in Connecticut. She’s scheduled to be let out on July 20, 2026, three months earlier than her initial release date.
A release date for Bankman-Fried is not available on the bureau’s website. Other top FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, were given no jail time because of their cooperation with the federal government. Judge Lewis Kaplan said Wang deserved a “world of credit” for aiding authorities and called Singh’s cooperation “remarkable.”
FTX collapsed in November 2022 after Alameda Research’s value was found to be derived from speculative crypto tokens, creating a surge of customer withdrawals that shook the crypto market and sent several companies into bankruptcy. Investors lost $1.7 billion, Alameda lenders lost $1.3 billion, and FTX customers lost $8 billion as a result of actions taken by Bankman-Fried and his company, Kaplan said in March.
