He was a wealthy executive in the cryptocurrency world, driving a sleek white Porsche and living in a luxurious condo in the Bahamas. She was a crypto policy expert with aspirations in politics, advocating for the industry’s interests in Washington.

Their romance began, thanks to an unexpected matchmaker: Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange.

Two years ago, Ryan Salame, an FTX executive, and Michelle Bond, a crypto advocate, were a power couple in the industry. Mr. Salame contributed millions to conservative politicians, earning recognition as an emerging Republican megadonor, while Ms. Bond launched a congressional campaign with backing from Donald Trump Jr.

But what started as a promising relationship has now turned into a legal ordeal. Mr. Salame, 31, once a close associate of Mr. Bankman-Fried, will begin serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for campaign finance fraud in Maryland. Ms. Bond, 45, who lives with Mr. Salame and their baby in Potomac, Maryland, also faces charges linked to FTX.

The couple wed last month in a small ceremony in Nevada, but their $4 million Potomac home, bought at FTX’s peak, is now on the market, with the proceeds being surrendered. Once a political insider, Mr. Salame now spars with online trolls on X. After FTX’s collapse in late 2022, Ms. Bond stepped down from her role leading a major crypto trade group and became a target of federal prosecutors, just like her husband.

“Being with me was always going to be a problem,” Mr. Salame admitted during a September interview at their home. “Her life has been far from easy with me in it.”

The cases against Mr. Salame and Ms. Bond illustrate how the legal fallout from FTX’s implosion continues to expand. FTX went bankrupt after $8 billion in customer funds vanished, with Mr. Bankman-Fried convicted of using the money to fund investments, real estate, and political donations. He’s now serving a 25-year prison sentence.

Mr. Salame was the first of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s associates to be sentenced. Caroline Ellison, another top executive, received a two-year sentence last month, and others are due to face judgment later this year.

Seated in his study, Mr. Salame expressed deep regret over FTX’s collapse. Although he continues to maintain he didn’t know Mr. Bankman-Fried was misappropriating customer funds, he also claimed that the campaign finance crimes he pleaded guilty to were a result of poor legal advice. He insists that FTX lawyers approved the donations and that his plea was based on misguided guidance from his legal team at Mayer Brown.

“I think they were more aligned with the prosecutors than they should have been,” Mr. Salame remarked. “They weren’t real fighters.”

Mayer Brown’s representatives have not commented, and Ms. Bond’s lawyer, Eric Breslin, declined to respond to inquiries.

Originally from the Berkshires, Mr. Salame graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with degrees in accounting and economics. He started working for Mr. Bankman-Fried in 2019 when FTX was based in Hong Kong. Known for his outgoing personality, Mr. Salame stood out at FTX, often reminding his unkempt boss to shower and put on clean socks.

It was through his position at FTX that Mr. Salame met Ms. Bond, who led the Association for Digital Asset Markets. Mr. Bankman-Fried introduced them via text to discuss a collaboration, and they met in person during a crypto conference in Miami in 2021. That evening, Mr. Salame’s sarcastic humor made an impression. Ms. Bond later described him in a court filing as “a typical young finance guy I hoped to avoid.” But by November of that year, after meeting again at a crypto event in Portugal, they began dating.

Their relationship quickly grew serious. Mr. Salame moved to the Bahamas to assist FTX in opening its headquarters there, while Ms. Bond, who had separated from her husband in 2020, visited him with her two children. Mr. Salame was drawn to her intelligence and humor, and they bonded over their shared admiration for Mr. Bankman-Fried.

As Mr. Salame became more politically involved, he focused on electing pro-crypto candidates, spending much of his growing wealth on political contributions and luxury items like his Porsche. In the 2022 midterms, he donated $24 million, mostly to Republicans, making him one of the largest donors at the time.

One of the politicians he supported was Ms. Bond, who was running for Congress in Long Island. In early 2022, Mr. Salame contributed to her campaign and later arranged a consulting deal for her with FTX, valued at $500,000, prosecutors allege. Ms. Bond lost the Republican primary in August 2022, gaining only 27% of the vote.

As FTX neared collapse, Mr. Salame joined Mr. Bankman-Fried for a meeting with Ron DeSantis, but the situation quickly unraveled. After FTX’s bankruptcy, Mr. Salame became a target of a wide-ranging criminal investigation, including allegations of distributing narcotics and bribing officials. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and running an unlicensed money transmitting business, though he denies the more sensational accusations.

Mr. Salame’s legal troubles also surfaced in Ms. Bond’s divorce, with her ex-husband accusing him of channeling illegal campaign contributions. Despite the turmoil, the couple remains together, raising their child and trying to rebuild their lives.

Ms. Bond recently launched a think tank focused on promoting cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Mr. Salame took the law school entrance exam, though he admitted his score wasn’t high enough for top-tier schools.

“I’ve learned a lot of hard lessons, and one is that I wish I knew the law better,” he said. “Relying on others didn’t serve me well.”

Their home in Potomac is now filled with baby toys, books, and a few remnants of the FTX era. Mr. Salame, who still drinks from an FTX-branded mug, finds it hard to stop talking about the company. He’s frequently taken to X to air grievances and post criticisms, sometimes defending Mr. Bankman-Fried while blaming others, like Caroline Ellison.

“Does it really make sense to blame everything on a crazy ex who ruined your company?” he asked recently.

Despite his controversial reputation, Mr. Salame’s presence in the crypto world has diminished. He even wrote a memoir titled “Go Directly to Jail,” but interest from publishers has faded. When he attended a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, no one paid him much attention.

“Honestly, it felt like nobody cared,” he reflected..