Michelle Bond, wife of former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, has filed a motion to exclude evidence tied to his 2023 guilty plea in a campaign finance case linked to her 2022 congressional bid. The move comes as Bond faces charges alleging her campaign was partially funded by FTX through Salame.
The motion, submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that Salame’s 2023 guilty plea and subsequent 90-month sentence should not be admissible in Bond’s trial. Prosecutors have alleged that FTX funnelled money to Bond’s campaign, which she lost in 2022.
Salame’s plea deal, which included admitting to unlawful campaign contributions, has become a central issue in Bond’s case. Legal documents filed by Bond’s team claim the evidence “risks unfair prejudice” and lacks “probative value” for her defence. The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
The case overlaps with broader scrutiny of FTX’s political ties, following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange and the subsequent sentencing of its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, to 25 years in prison. Caroline Ellison, former head of Alameda Research, also received a prison term for her role in the firm’s downfall.
Separately, former New York congressman George Santos was ordered to pay $17,500 in penalties over illicit bets on Kalshi, while soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke faces trial in late 2026 or early 2027 for allegedly wagering $400,000 on Polymarket using nonpublic military information.
The legal proceedings highlight ongoing debates over the regulation of prediction markets, with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission citing ambiguities in the Commodity Exchange Act’s definition of “swaps” in relation to event-based contracts.
Written by Steven Cook
Regulation Desk
