KEY POINTS
- Former FTX executive Ryan Salame allegedly arranged for Bond to receive a "sham payment" of $400K
- Bond allegedly falsely claimed that the funds were payment for her consulting services
- She allegedly tried to cover up her tracks by lying to the FEC and a congressional committee
Crypto lobbyist Michelle Bond, who ran for Congress in 2022, has been charged with illegally financing her congressional campaign with money from defunct crypto exchange FTX via Ryan Salame, a former executive at FTX, under a "sham consulting agreement," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said Thursday.
Bond, the fiancée of Salame, identified only as CC-1 in the indictment, received less than 30% of the votes in New York's District 1 Republican primary despite heavy support from the crypto industry at the time.
Illegal campaign financing and lying
"As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives by illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate coffers, among other sources, and then lying to Congress and others to cover it up," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said as per a press release.
The unsealed indictment alleges that Salame, who was a "high-level executive" at FTX when Bond kicked off her campaign, "arranged for a sham $400,000 payment from the Exchange to Bond, which Bond then used almost entirely to fund her campaign illegally."
The court document further revealed that Salame went on to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bond's personal bank account between June and August 2022 "which Bond then used to fund her campaign illegally."
Bond allegedly tried to conceal her and Salame's conduct by providing false statements to a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission (FEC). She is also accused of "lying to her then-employer."
FTX's 'illegal contribution'
According to the indictment, Bond's campaign falsely reported in the FEC Form 3 that a $300,000 transfer to the campaign's bank account was a loan from Bond to the campaign. The said figures turned out to be "an illegal contribution from the Exchange to the campaign."
Furthermore, Bond allegedly "falsely characterized the $400,000 Exchange Payment as consulting income" from FTX in a House Ethics Form, but later admitted to a public relations consultant that she wasn't providing consulting services for the defunct exchange, and the exchange provided the said amount to help with her campaign.
Possible jail time for crypto lobbyist
Bond is faced with up to 20 years in prison on four counts related to conspiracy on "unlawful campaign contributions." Her case is being handled by the Public Corruption Unit of the Attorney's Office.
Her case comes to light as politicians gear up for the November elections. This particular election season is unique for the crypto community as it is one where the industry's voice is starting to ring loud in political circles.
A growing number of politicians are turning hard toward the sector and even Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has expressed support for the industry.
