The 5,000-resident town of Lenox, Massachusetts, is closely following the FTX downfall because one of the crypto behemoth co-CEOs owns a significant portfolio of property in the town.
As first reported by The Berkshire Eagle, Ryan Salame, who was co-CEO at FTX Digital Markets, invested $6 million in restaurants and real estate in Lenox.
FTX has since filed for bankruptcy and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested last week. Bankman-Fried has been accused of funneling customer funds into his trading firm, Alameda, and using customer money to purchase luxury real estate and fund political donations.
Salame received a $55 million loan from Alameda, according to bankruptcy filings, and donated $23 million to mostly Republican political candidates.
Jennifer Nacht, executive director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, told The Berkshire Eagle she was “concerned” about what FTX’s collapse “means for Lenox.”
Two days before FTX’s bankruptcy, Salame alerted authorities about potential wrongdoing at the company, according to court filings. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Salame vomited upon hearing about FTX’s implosion.
