Partner of FTX executive charged with campaign finance violations
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GOP first congressional district primary candidate Michelle Bond on Election Day in 2022. Photo by James Carbone/Newsday/Getty
Former congressional candidate Michelle Bond, who unsuccessfully sought to represent the eastern portion of Long Island in Congress in 2022, has been charged with four counts of campaign finance violations.
Why it matters: Bond is the fiancée of Ryan Salame, formerly an executive of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and the charges link her to his actions.
Bond has been charged by federal prosecutors with one count of conspiracy to cause an unlawful contribution, one of accepting an excessive contribution, one of receiving an unlawful contribution and one of receiving a conduit contribution (also known as a straw donor).
- Each count carries a maximum five year sentence, if convicted.
Zoom in: The indictment alleges that Bond was paid $400,000 for consulting services by an unidentified exchange, based abroad, arranged by her "romantic partner."
- It alleges that Bond had done no work for the exchange and the funds immediately went into her campaign spending.
- Other significant payments from her co-conspirator are alleged to have followed.
- It also provides various text messages and emails that appear to indicate knowledge of impropriety.
Friction point: The indictment further alleges that Bond misrepresented the funds to both the House Ethics Committee, the Federal Election Commission and the board of the organization she led at the time.
Flashback: According to her LinkedIn page, Bond has worked in the blockchain industry in various capacities since 2018.
- She is an attorney, admitted to the New York and DC Bar Associations. Earlier this year she co-founded a think tank called Digital Future.
The intrigue: Her partner Ryan Salame, who is not named in the indictment, is now alleging that he cut a deal with prosecutors that they would not charge Bond if he pled guilty in the FTX case.
- He's now seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, on the grounds that prosecutors have broken their deal.
- Salame pled guilty to two counts related to the FTX collapse, one of which was a campaign finance charge.
In the weeds: Prosecutors were stymied in bringing campaign finance related charges against FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, because of an arcane bit of treaty law called the rule of specialty.
- Neither Bond nor her spokesperson has immediately replied to a request for comment from Axios.
