Ryan Salame: How long should the FTX manager go to jail?

After Sam Bankman-Fried, a second high-ranking FTX manager, Ryan Salame, could also be sentenced to prison.

Attorneys for FTX's former co-CEO, Ryan Salame, are demanding only a light prison sentence for their client. They justify this with the fact that Salame's guilt was only minor. Salame had also confessed to his guilt.

"[Salame] absolutely did not know that the four people in downtown Alameda and FTX had conspired to lie and steal from their customers," his defense lawyers said. Unlike Sam Bankman-Fried, he had never been convicted of fraud.

Salame pleaded guilty in September 2023. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed CIT company.

During his time at the exchange, he allegedly donated a total of $24 million to support Republican campaigns. The money came from accounts at Alameda Research. As part of his guilty plea, the former manager agreed to seize $1.5 billion. The verdict will be announced May 28 by Judge Lewis Kaplan.

If the sentence is indeed that low, Salame would serve a significantly shorter sentence than his former boss. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces 25 years behind bars.