After a jury convicted disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of seven criminal charges last November related to the collapse of his crypto exchange, questions lingered over alleged campaign finance violations totaling nearly $100 million, stemming from stolen customer deposits. But a second trial never materialized, with prosecutors deciding to drop the case in December, leaving the matter unsettled.
That changed on Thursday when Department of Justice prosecutors in the Southern District of New York filed charges against Michelle Bond, a onetime crypto lobbyist and former congressional candidate who, they argued, had illegally financed her campaign through FTX funds paid by her boyfriend, former FTX executive Ryan Salame. Salame had pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money transmitter in May, avoiding a trial but still earning a 7.5-year prison sentence, which is set to begin this fall.
