Changpeng Zhao teases writing project ahead of reporting to prison

May 17, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Ex-Alameda Research co-CEO calls for ‘fair’ sentencing of Ryan Salame

May 16, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Sam Trabucco, who resigned as co-CEO of Alameda Research in August 2022, has largely remained absent from the public eye since the collapse of FTX.

Former Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco, who resigned from the company before the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and criminal charges for many of its executives, has called for leniency in sentencing former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame.

In a character reference letter dated May 6, filed with a sentencing recommendation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Trabucco said Salame was his best friend and wanted the consequences of his criminal actions to be “fair” based on his role in misappropriating FTX user funds. He described his friendship with Salame based on their shared experiences in the crypto space and working with former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried.

In September 2023, Salame pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and engaging in campaign finance fraud related to contributions to his girlfriend Michelle Bond’s run for Congress. According to Trabucco, Bond and Salame now have a son together, and any time in prison could harm his relationship with his family.

Ex-FTX exec Ryan Salame asks for no more than 18 months in prison

May 15, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO pleaded guilty to two felonies and was one of the only figures connected with the defunct crypto exchange who didn’t testify at SBF’s trial.

Lawyers representing Ryan Salame have requested the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets be sentenced to no more than 18 months in prison.

In a May 14 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Salame’s legal team argued that in addition to the “substantial restitution and forfeiture obligations” offered by the former FTX executive, a sentence of no more than 18 months in prison was “appropriate.” Salame pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and engaging in campaign finance fraud in September 2023 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan on May 28.

“[Salame] had absolutely no knowledge that the four people at the center of Alameda and FTX had conspired to lie and steal from their customers,” his lawyers claimed in the May 14 sentencing memo. “Ryan stole from no one. He did not lie to customers. And he was duped, as was everyone else, into believing that the companies were legitimate, solvent, and wildly profitable.”

Ex-Digitex Futures Exchange CEO pleads guilty to violating Bank Secrecy Act

May 7, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Nigerian court postpones money laundering trial of Binance and execs

May 2, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Changpeng Zhao gets 4 months, Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years — Why?

May 1, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison

April 30, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, pleaded guilty in November to violating U.S. money laundering laws and had been free to travel in the United States on a $175 million bond.

A federal judge has sentenced former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to four months in prison for violating U.S. money laundering laws.

In an April 30 hearing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Judge Richard Jones sentenced Zhao to four months in prison. Prosecutors had recommended the former Binance CEO serve three years for his failure to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program while at the crypto exchange, to which he pleaded guilty in November. CZ’s lawyers requested he be given probation.

According to reports from the courtroom, Judge Jones said there was no evidence Zhao “was ever informed” of specific illegal activities at Binance, pushing back against prosecutors’ request to enhance the sentence from 18 months to three years. In final arguments, attorneys for the government suggested that CZ’s approach at Binance had been to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, and he shouldn’t be allowed to profit from his actions.

Crimes