WEBVTT - How Ryan Salame's Neighbors Got Tangled Up In FTX's Fallout

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Crypto, a daily Bloomberg I Heard podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm Stacy Marie Ishmael, Managing editor of Crypto for

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg News. It's Wednesday, January eighteen. Western Massachusetts is a

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<v Speaker 1>very different place from the Bahamas, where the FTX crypto

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<v Speaker 1>Exchange had its headquarters, but the small town of Lenox

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<v Speaker 1>there is feeling the effects of the ft X bankruptcy. Nonetheless,

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why is a gentleman named Ryan Salem, the

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<v Speaker 1>former co CEO of FTX Digital Markets, who was also

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<v Speaker 1>it turns out, a major player in the economy of Lenox.

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<v Speaker 1>Salem grew up in Berkshire County, of which Lenox is apart.

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<v Speaker 1>The town has fewer than ten thousand residents, actually closer

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<v Speaker 1>to five thousand, according to the most recent sense us.

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<v Speaker 1>In March, the county's local newspaper, The Bookshire Eagle, reported

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<v Speaker 1>that Salem owned multiple restaurants and other properties in the town.

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<v Speaker 1>What's going to happen to those restaurants now that ft

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<v Speaker 1>X has filed for bankruptcy and Salem is out of

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<v Speaker 1>a job. Bloomberg reporter Carl I Wanna has the latest.

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<v Speaker 1>There are questions of, yeah, what happens to the restaurants,

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<v Speaker 1>to the food truck when their owner is somebody who,

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<v Speaker 1>like we said, has up in charge. But it's obviously

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<v Speaker 1>somehow embroiled in this scandal. Carly, welcome back to the show.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for having me. How did you end up

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<v Speaker 1>reporting on Ryan Salem? Was because I told you too.

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<v Speaker 1>You said it would be interesting to know more about

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<v Speaker 1>Ryan Salem, and I said, okay, and what did you

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<v Speaker 1>find out about this dude? Who was the former co

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of FTX Digital Markets. Right, So a shout out

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<v Speaker 1>to local journalism on a quick google, Ryan Salem's name

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<v Speaker 1>came up. This was a month or two ar ago

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<v Speaker 1>with the Berkshire Eagle, which is a local paper out

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<v Speaker 1>of western Massachusetts, and they had done an extensive amount

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<v Speaker 1>of reporting on him, not only since the collapse of

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<v Speaker 1>f t X, but also in the years leading up

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<v Speaker 1>to it. Because Ryan Salem, as it turns out, is

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<v Speaker 1>actually from Western Massachusetts. So I quickly learned by reading

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<v Speaker 1>their excellent reporting both before the collapse of fd X

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<v Speaker 1>and after that, he had been heavily invested in the

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<v Speaker 1>local restaurant scene in Lennox, Massachusetts. He had bought up

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of real estate and restaurants and ice cream

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<v Speaker 1>store as well. It's a really interesting trajectory and so

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<v Speaker 1>that kind of spurred an interest in what is that.

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<v Speaker 1>So I then went through local property records and confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>that it was in fact over six million dollars that

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<v Speaker 1>was invested into the restaurant scene of I mean, this

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<v Speaker 1>town is small and Atlantic Passachusetts. It is like five

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<v Speaker 1>thousand plus people according to the census data, and he

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<v Speaker 1>was a heavyweight in their restaurants scene. He also just

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<v Speaker 1>owned random plots of land as well. So if I

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<v Speaker 1>remember correctly, and I'm going to quote some of your story,

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<v Speaker 1>he owns five dining enterprises, including two restaurants, a dessert shop,

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<v Speaker 1>a catering company, and a food truck called the lunch Pail. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the lunch Pail. Incredible. One of the things that struck

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<v Speaker 1>me about this reporting is it was so unexpected, right,

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<v Speaker 1>so as we start reporting on this, it was before

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<v Speaker 1>everything came out about the ft X bankruptcy. It was

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<v Speaker 1>before Sam Bankman Freed showed up in a court in

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<v Speaker 1>New York to plead not guilty. And this dude, Ryan Salem,

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<v Speaker 1>while he was an important player in the ft X ecosystem,

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<v Speaker 1>in the Bahamas, he wasn't necessarily super well known outside

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<v Speaker 1>of Western Massachusetts. He's still not been charged with any

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<v Speaker 1>crimes at all. It turned out, according to court filings

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<v Speaker 1>in the f t X case, that even prior to

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<v Speaker 1>FTX filing from bankruptcy, he went to local Bohemian regulations

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<v Speaker 1>and said, I have concerns about what's going on here.

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<v Speaker 1>Several days prior to the collapse of f t X,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most senior people at f t X

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<v Speaker 1>was already tipping off authorities in the Bahamas about possible

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<v Speaker 1>misuse of funds. So this executive is someone called Ryan

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<v Speaker 1>Salam and essentially he was the former co CEO at

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<v Speaker 1>FTX Digital Markets and basically he told regulators in the Bahamas.

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<v Speaker 1>So we know more about him from the perspective of,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, this was a high ranking executive in this

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<v Speaker 1>crypto empire that has disintegrated. What did you learn about

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<v Speaker 1>him as a person from Western mass locals understandably, so

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<v Speaker 1>we're not super keen on talking that much about the situation.

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<v Speaker 1>That said, though, people who would speak with me said

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<v Speaker 1>that he was a hometown guy, that he had vested

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<v Speaker 1>interest in the community, and you know, he grew up

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<v Speaker 1>in the area. His investments in the community. One person

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<v Speaker 1>told me he seemed genuine. He really seemed like he

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<v Speaker 1>did and does have an interest in that community itself.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, he even went to college around the area.

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<v Speaker 1>He went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. So there

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<v Speaker 1>is this kind of sense of this was a young guy,

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<v Speaker 1>he was from the area, and you know, he thought

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<v Speaker 1>it would be i don't know, fun or cool or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe even a good investment to go into these local properties.

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<v Speaker 1>It should be noted too, that he did a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of these investments in restaurants during the COVID nineteen pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>So there were questions even at the time of why restaurants.

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<v Speaker 1>Right now when there's staffing shortages and labor issues, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of questions about why he did it. But

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<v Speaker 1>at the end of the day, it did kind of

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<v Speaker 1>seem like he had this this interest and I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>giving back to the community, helping out being a part

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<v Speaker 1>of the community that he kind of grew up around,

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<v Speaker 1>and in again shout out to local journalism. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the articles in The Berkshire Eagle was noting that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>his parents still live within commuting distance of Lennox, and

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<v Speaker 1>he had said to the reporters at the time that

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted these investments and restaurants to be like real

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<v Speaker 1>going concerns. Right. It didn't sound like it was just

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<v Speaker 1>a hobbies, Like I want these things to make money.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's going to happen to them now? Again, while

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<v Speaker 1>he hasn't been charged with a crime in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, no US prosecutor has come out and said

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<v Speaker 1>anything about his involvement in the collapse of f t X.

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<v Speaker 1>He doesn't have a job, right. A lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>money that he had had is tied up in ft

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<v Speaker 1>X and ft X accounts. There are court filings that

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<v Speaker 1>suggest he borrowed significant amounts of money from Alameda Research,

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<v Speaker 1>which is one of the bankrupt entities at the center

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<v Speaker 1>of the ft X empire, in the amount of I

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<v Speaker 1>think fifty five million dollars. So there are questions over

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<v Speaker 1>you know, where the money came from, or or he's

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<v Speaker 1>going to continue to go. What are the folks who

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<v Speaker 1>own and work in these restaurants saying in this aftermath

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<v Speaker 1>of everything that happened, People there say that the restaurants

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<v Speaker 1>are still operating as normal. In the month of December.

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<v Speaker 1>I called number of people who said they were, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the restaurants were packed, Firefly and you know, all Heritage tavern.

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<v Speaker 1>We're still doing business as normal. The lunch pale was,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, food trucking around. As it may, Ryan's land

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't really involved in the day to day operations of

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<v Speaker 1>these businesses. Instead, he kind of funneled that to somebody

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<v Speaker 1>also local manager. Her name was Jane Blanchard. She declined

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<v Speaker 1>to comment. All she had to say was that she was,

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<v Speaker 1>in fact a big Ryan fan. The reality is, though

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<v Speaker 1>he was not involved in really keeping them afloat day

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<v Speaker 1>to day managing their operations. That said, though, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he is their owners. So there are questions of, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>what happens to the restaurants, to the food truck when

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<v Speaker 1>their owner is somebody who, like said, was up in charge,

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<v Speaker 1>but as obviously somehow embroiled in this scandal and talking

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<v Speaker 1>to people to again, really really small town, it's probably

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<v Speaker 1>pretty wild that your small town is now the center

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<v Speaker 1>of this thing that is huge and pertains to and

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<v Speaker 1>relates to fraud. So I do wonder if there are

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<v Speaker 1>questions about maybe the ownership is something dicey for the

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<v Speaker 1>restaurants themselves. But I think I want to go back

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<v Speaker 1>to this idea of the the outsized effects of this

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<v Speaker 1>FTX collapse, because you know, one of the things about crypto,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's a lot of focus on crypto as technology, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Like we we laugh at the phrase the underlying technology,

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<v Speaker 1>but we do. We do a lot of reporting on

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<v Speaker 1>the technology of the thing, on the markets, on the prisis,

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<v Speaker 1>on what's going on up down sideways. But crypto is also,

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<v Speaker 1>much like any other industry, something that's filled with people

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<v Speaker 1>and often very colorful characters and very colorful people. And

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<v Speaker 1>you've been involved in other stories that we've done, not

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<v Speaker 1>only about Ryan Salem, but about other execs at ft

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<v Speaker 1>X and in crypto. What are some of the key

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<v Speaker 1>things that you have observed in terms of the personalities

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<v Speaker 1>in this space that seemed to make it perhaps uniquely

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<v Speaker 1>prone to these sorts of scandals. M That's a really

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<v Speaker 1>interesting question. I think the thing that stuck out to

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<v Speaker 1>me the most is that these people were young, and

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<v Speaker 1>there are questions after ft X collapsed of what were

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<v Speaker 1>they doing with their money and potentially even I mean

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<v Speaker 1>f t X is money, there was a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>loans given out and it's hard to establish wonder on

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<v Speaker 1>relationships of what loans went exactly where. But the reality

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<v Speaker 1>is there was exorbitant spending in a number of things.

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<v Speaker 1>Six million dollars is a lot of money to invest

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<v Speaker 1>in the local restaurants scene, in the real estate of

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<v Speaker 1>a small town in western Massachusetts. But that's also penny

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<v Speaker 1>is compared to the real estate that was in the Bahamas,

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<v Speaker 1>or the massive, massive political contributions that were given to

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<v Speaker 1>various campaigns. Ryan Salem himself was a large Republican donor,

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<v Speaker 1>but others at f t X were large generals themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>many of them to Democrats. So I think there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of I don't want to use the word effective

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<v Speaker 1>altruism because that is a very specific thing, but right right,

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<v Speaker 1>we do, and I think that it it just becomes

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<v Speaker 1>a you know, it becomes an all encompassing thing. But

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<v Speaker 1>there was this idea of these young people who are

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<v Speaker 1>I mean flooded with money, and what do you do

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<v Speaker 1>with it? What can you do with it? And the

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<v Speaker 1>reality is some of it went to charitable endeavors, some

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<v Speaker 1>of it went to random stuff like I mean, restaurants

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<v Speaker 1>in Lenox, Massachusetts. But there's questions of where should it

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<v Speaker 1>have gone and whose money was it up. Next, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>hear more from Bloomberg report to Coli Wanna on the

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<v Speaker 1>long tentacles of the fd X fallout. You mentioned the

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<v Speaker 1>political contributions, and those are one of the things that

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<v Speaker 1>did come up in the criminal allegations against Sam Bankman Freed,

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<v Speaker 1>which he's denied, was that, you know, the way that

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<v Speaker 1>they made those donations was not in compliance with relevant laws.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think that at the center of a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of this is what what you've identified. It's it's not

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<v Speaker 1>only what did they spend the money on, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>also where did the money come from? Right, Because a

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<v Speaker 1>key claim here is that FTX used customer funds inappropriately,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is that the heart of the bankruptcy filing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's at the heart of what is going to be

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<v Speaker 1>a very long and complex set of criminal cases. And

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<v Speaker 1>if it is found by judges lawyers restructure as all

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<v Speaker 1>of these folks that customer funds were used here, then

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<v Speaker 1>one of the things that folks are staring down is

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<v Speaker 1>what's called clobax, right, this idea that you're a politician,

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna have to figure out how to give back

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<v Speaker 1>those campaign donations, or you're a nonprofit you have to

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<v Speaker 1>give out give those donations, or potentially you're charming little

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<v Speaker 1>restaurants and now you're going to be caught up in

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<v Speaker 1>bankruptcy filings, which is not a not a fun thing

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<v Speaker 1>for folks to be considering. Right, Yeah, and it should

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<v Speaker 1>be said to that he purchased these properties through individual

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<v Speaker 1>companies that he had registered. So we found, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>a lot several companies that he had Ryan Salem formed

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<v Speaker 1>and purchased properties Slash real Estate through, so those were

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<v Speaker 1>not tied up and necessarily the the on entities that FTX,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, entered into Chapter eleven bankruptcy proceedings in November. However,

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<v Speaker 1>there are questions of what happens those entities if their

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<v Speaker 1>founder is embroiled in those bankruptcy proceedings, even though no

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<v Speaker 1>charges haven't breast Gainst him obviously got it. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think just as a as another kind of consideration, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes what happens is when you have a person who

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<v Speaker 1>is very famous and their name, even if it's not

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<v Speaker 1>in the building, is like strongly associated with the brand

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<v Speaker 1>I'm thinking of, like Mario Vitalian easily or Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>and hotels and soho that what happens next is kind

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<v Speaker 1>of a pr campaign of like, um, we're moving on

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<v Speaker 1>from that part of our history. The picture has come down.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there's a new coat of pains. There's like

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<v Speaker 1>new owners, same restaurant. Everything's great. Did you get any

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<v Speaker 1>sense from the folks who were willing to speak to

0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.760
<v Speaker 1>you that this controversy is something that they're just trying

0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:25.160
<v Speaker 1>to be like, we're going to move forward, we don't

0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.280
<v Speaker 1>want to talk about it anymore. Absolutely. I think that's

0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.560
<v Speaker 1>also why people probably in some ways didn't want to

0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.840
<v Speaker 1>speak to me too about it, is because this is

0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.640
<v Speaker 1>something that this is not the town's fault. The town

0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.960
<v Speaker 1>did not do this, this is not their responsibility. But

0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.800
<v Speaker 1>now they are caught up in this because their owner,

0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.640
<v Speaker 1>Ryan Salem, is a name that is associated with ft X. Right,

0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:48.080
<v Speaker 1>So even them saying like oh it is business as normal,

0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:50.679
<v Speaker 1>people not wanting to really comment on it. They're only

0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:53.800
<v Speaker 1>comments being you know, fairly positive things to say about

0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.760
<v Speaker 1>Ryan Salem. I mean, the reality is that fd X

0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.600
<v Speaker 1>is being accused of doing some pretty bad things. In

0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.000
<v Speaker 1>regard us of what his role and it is, it

0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.080
<v Speaker 1>probably doesn't make a lot of sense for people in

0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.480
<v Speaker 1>the town to start helving off against Ryan Salem, like

0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:11.160
<v Speaker 1>it really does probably make the most sense to just

0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:16.600
<v Speaker 1>move forward and continue your business as normal. And again,

0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:19.680
<v Speaker 1>this is a really small down so I have to

0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.080
<v Speaker 1>kind of hope that the restaurants and the ice cream

0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.000
<v Speaker 1>store in the catering company and food truck will we

0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:30.120
<v Speaker 1>find because it's a small downtown. There's doesn't seem like

0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:32.800
<v Speaker 1>they are that many options where you eat. It seems

0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.160
<v Speaker 1>like the people like the food, So I hope that

0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:39.000
<v Speaker 1>there is a you know, local sentiment that drives it

0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:43.320
<v Speaker 1>forward past Ryan Salem, if that is what it comes to, right.

0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.120
<v Speaker 1>This is very different from reporting that you've also done

0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:50.040
<v Speaker 1>about say like Margharitaville, which is going to continue to

0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:53.000
<v Speaker 1>be fine and attract an international clientele who's going to

0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.840
<v Speaker 1>spend you know, large amounts of money on big checks

0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.200
<v Speaker 1>in in the Bahamas. So a completely different vibe. But

0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:04.640
<v Speaker 1>Crypto intains multitudes clearly, yes, And Onion, Carlie, thank you

0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:06.160
<v Speaker 1>for being on the show. Thank you for having me.

0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.240
<v Speaker 1>That was Bloomberg Report, carl Juanna. You can find more

0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.440
<v Speaker 1>of her reporting on the Bloomberg Terminal and on Bloomberg

0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:14.640
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0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:24.960
<v Speaker 1>weekly newsletter, Bloomberg Crypto. This is Bloomberg Crypto, a daily

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