US prosecutors want former FTX CEO Ryan Salama – the alleged wingman of FTX co-founder Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried – to serve five to seven years in prison for the crimes that led to the final collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
On May 21, federal prosecutors filed a sentencing brief in Manhattan federal court seeking a strict sentence against Salama after the defendant pleaded guilty to “serious crimes” related to the embezzlement of FXT investors.
In the court filing seen by Bloomberg, US prosecutors demanded a “fair sentence” commensurate with the extent of his crime, unlike Salama’s lawyers who believe he should serve no more than 18 months.
The plaintiffs stated:
“Campaign finance crime is one of the largest crimes ever committed in American history, and unlicensed cash transporters exchanged more than $1 billion without proper oversight. »
Salama is currently scheduled to be sentenced for helping SBF withdraw $10 billion in user funds on May 28. “Only a meaningful prison sentence can adequately deter the defendant and others and promote respect for the law,” prosecutors added.
On April 1, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison after finding him guilty on seven counts. Salama will be the first SBF partner to be judged.
Salama started at Alameda Research in Hong Kong in 2019 and later rose through the company ranks to become CEO of FTX Digital Markets, an FTX subsidiary based in the Bahamas.
The other high-profile members behind the FTX scam – Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang – have yet to be sentenced.
about: SBF maintains innocence while trading rice in prison
Several US lawmakers are supporting a bill to clarify the roles of the country’s financial regulators regarding digital assets in order to “prevent the next FTX,” according to North Carolina state Rep. Wiley Nickel.
Rep. Nickel called on lawmakers to support passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), a bill that would clarify how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC regulate cryptocurrencies.
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