Former FTX exec starts prison sentence with LinkedIn post about a 'new position'

   Former FTX executive Ryan Salame prepared to start his 7 ½ year prison sentence with one final Very Online post.Salame, 31, who was a member of Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle, took to LinkedIn with a life update two days before he was set to report to a federal correctional institution in Cumberland, Maryland."I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Inmate at FCI Cumberland," Salame posted on Wednesday.In May, a federal judge sentenced Salame to 7 ½ years in prison on fraud and campaign finance charges related to the collapse of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange in 2022.Prosecutors accused Salame of conspiring with Bankman-Fried to defraud FTX investors and customers, as well as making hundreds of illegal political campaign donations.Salame was one of four top FTX executives who pleaded guilty after the company went bankrupt. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research; Gary Wang, former FTX technology chief; and Nishad Singh, former FTX engineering chief, also agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March.Salame got his start at Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research before becoming co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian affiliate in 2021.In the months leading up to the start of his prison sentence, Salame frequently posted through the pain, taking to the internet to share hundreds of posts on X.Among Salame's pre-prison musings, he shared support for former President Donald Trump after the Republican candidate spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville. He's also complained about the legal system being unfair.Salame's prison start date was delayed several times after a dog bit him.Last month, he tried to withdraw his guilty plea, saying prosecutors broke a promise to him when they indicted Michelle Bond, a cryptocurrency advocate and Salame's romantic partner, earlier this year. Prosecutors have strongly denied the allegation.Salame later tried to withdraw his withdrawal but instead got a 30-minute courtroom grilling from US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.