A federal judge has rejected Michelle Bond’s attempt to dismiss campaign finance charges tied to her 2022 congressional campaign, keeping one of the final criminal cases connected to the FTX collapse on track for trial.
Key Takeaways
- Judge George Daniels denied Michelle Bond’s motion to dismiss federal campaign finance charges.
- The court ruled that prosecutors never promised Bond immunity as part of Ryan Salame’s plea agreement.
- Prosecutors allege Bond used FTX linked funds to support her unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign.
- Bond faces four felony campaign finance charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
What Happened?
A Manhattan federal court has ruled that Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, must continue fighting criminal campaign finance charges after failing to convince a judge that prosecutors had promised she would not be prosecuted.
The decision removes a major hurdle for federal prosecutors and keeps alive one of the last remaining criminal cases stemming from the collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
SDNY judge declines to dismiss campaign finance indictment against former FTX consultant and politician Michelle Bond.
— Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) June 17, 2026
Bond claimed that prosecutors promised not to investigate her if her partner Ryan Salame pleaded guilty — then indicted her anyway. Judge doesn’t buy it. pic.twitter.com/Vw0SbeIDdO
Judge Rejects Immunity Argument
U.S. District Judge George Daniels denied Bond’s motion to dismiss, concluding that the written plea agreement signed by Ryan Salame contained no language granting immunity to Bond.
The defense argued that prosecutors made assurances during discussions surrounding Salame’s 2023 guilty plea. Bond claimed that comments made by then Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon suggested prosecutors would conclude investigative matters involving Salame if he accepted a plea deal.
However, Daniels found that argument unpersuasive.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that there was “no ambiguity” in Salame’s plea agreement and determined that the evidence clearly showed prosecutors never promised Bond protection from future charges.
The judge further stated that “all parties, including the defendants and their counsel” understood that Bond had not been cleared by the government when Salame entered his guilty plea.
Daniels also cited testimony from Bond’s former attorney, Gina Parlovecchio, who said under oath that she did not interpret Sassoon’s comments as a promise of immunity when they were made.
As a result, the court concluded that no binding agreement existed that would prevent prosecutors from pursuing charges against Bond.
Prosecutors Say FTX Funds Supported Campaign
The criminal case centers on Bond’s unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. House seat in New York during the 2022 election cycle.
According to prosecutors, after Bond launched her congressional campaign, Salame arranged a consulting agreement between Bond and FTX. The agreement allegedly resulted in Bond receiving $400,000.
Federal prosecutors claim those funds were later used to support her campaign activities. They also allege that Salame transferred hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to Bond between June and August 2022.
The government contends that these payments violated federal campaign finance laws and were part of a broader effort to channel money into the campaign through improper means.
Prosecutors further allege that Bond attempted to conceal the true source of the funds and made false statements to both a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission.
Bond has denied wrongdoing, and the allegations remain unproven unless established in court.
Four Criminal Charges Remain
Bond currently faces four federal campaign finance related charges:
- Conspiracy to cause unlawful political contributions.
- Causing and receiving a straw donor contribution.
- Causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions.
- Causing and accepting an unlawful corporate contribution.
Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted.
With the motion to dismiss now rejected, the case will move forward toward trial, where prosecutors will have to prove their allegations.
One of the Final FTX Criminal Cases
The ruling represents another chapter in the long legal fallout from FTX’s dramatic collapse in November 2022.
The exchange filed for bankruptcy after a liquidity crisis exposed significant shortfalls in customer funds, triggering multiple criminal investigations into former executives and the company’s political spending activities.
Ryan Salame, a former senior executive at FTX and former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He was later sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May 2024.
Bond’s prosecution is closely tied to those allegations and is widely viewed as one of the final major criminal proceedings connected to the failed crypto exchange.
The latest ruling ensures that scrutiny over FTX’s political contributions and campaign financing practices will continue in federal court.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my experience, the most significant part of this ruling is not the campaign finance allegations themselves but the court’s clear rejection of the immunity argument. Judge Daniels focused heavily on the written plea agreement and the evidence surrounding it, signaling that informal interpretations or assumptions are unlikely to outweigh documented legal terms.
I found that this decision strengthens prosecutors’ position as the case heads toward trial and keeps attention on how political donations connected to FTX were allegedly structured and reported. With many FTX related prosecutions already resolved, Bond’s case could become one of the final opportunities for courts to examine the exchange’s political spending practices in detail.
