CNN
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Ryan Salame and Caroline Ellison, FTX executives convicted for their roles in the infamous crypto fraud run by their former boss Sam Bankman-Fried, have both saved time from their lengthy prison sentences.
Salame, a former senior executive at FTX, the now bankrupt cryptocurrency trading platform, pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges in September 2023, and was sentenced in May to 7 1/2 years in federal prison. He began his sentence in October. But the Federal Bureau of Prisons currently sets his release date for March 1, 2031, more than a year ahead of his original April 2032 release date. Business Insider first announced the new release date of Salame.
Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend and former CEO of FTX’s hedge fund arm, Alameda Research, was sentenced to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven federal counts of fraud and conspiracy and being key witness against Bankman-Fried. Its current release date is listed as July 20, 2026, three months earlier than its original release date.
Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, no release date is indicated on the prison website.
The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. However, in several previous statements regarding early release dates, the office told CNN that it does not comment on the conditions of any particular inmate’s detention, but that inmates can earn good behavior time that is calculated based on their expected release date.
Qualified inmates are currently entitled to up to 54 days of GCT time for each year of their court-imposed sentence. Inmates have other ways to accumulate time credits while incarcerated, including participating in various prison programs.
FTX was a high-profile crypto startup that allowed people to buy and sell digital assets. His name was emblazoned on a Miami arena and on the jersey of every Major League Baseball umpire. The exchange had several famous backers and was widely considered the gold standard for safety and security.
But FTX collapsed in November 2022 when customers withdrew their funds as rumors spread about FTX’s unusually close ties to its founder’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.