DOJ charges Michelle Bond with campaign finance violations in FTX case

In a new twist in the FTX (CRYPTO:FTT) saga, federal prosecutors have charged Michelle Bond, the domestic partner of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, with violating campaign finance laws.

This development follows Salame's recent effort to overturn his conviction or block its enforcement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan alleges that Bond, who ran unsuccessfully for a congressional seat in New York last year, used $400,000 from FTX, where her partner held an executive position, to fund her campaign.

The DOJ contends that Bond’s actions breached laws prohibiting corporate contributions to political campaigns.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, “As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the US 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 all up. Misconduct by those campaigning for public office undermines public trust in American elections and in representative government more broadly. This Office is committed to holding elected officials and candidates accountable if they break the law.”

Although Salame and FTX were not explicitly named in the announcement, the link was evident.

Salame, who admitted to making substantial illegal campaign contributions to support causes favored by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, had recently requested a judge to vacate his guilty plea.

Salame accused prosecutors of breaking a promise not to investigate Bond if he pleaded guilty.

Bond, a former employee of the cryptocurrency trade group Association for Digital Asset Markets, faces four criminal counts, including causing and receiving unlawful contributions and straw contributions.

The prosecutors have yet to announce Bond’s sentencing date, while Salame is set to begin a 7.5-year prison sentence on October 13.

Amid these developments, FTX's native token, FTT, has shown a significant uptick.

At the time of writing, the FTX (FTT) price was $1.47.