Two-year prison sentence for Caroline Ellison, former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, after pleading guilty and cooperating with the prosecution.
On September 24, Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the collapse of the FTX exchange, which caused billions of dollars in losses for customers.
Ellison, the former girlfriend of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to seven charges, including wire fraud, commodities and securities fraud, and money laundering. The company Alameda Research was closely tied to FTX, both founded by SBF.
According to Bloomberg, in addition to the prison sentence, Ellison will have to forfeit approximately $11 billion and may serve her sentence in a ‘minimum-security facility.’
During the hearing, Ellison stated:
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about all of the people I hurt.”
Her cooperation with the authorities was crucial for the sentencing: Ellison testified against SBF during his criminal trial, revealing his active role in the criminal activities that led to FTX’s collapse. Ellison stated that Alameda had access to FTX customers’ deposits through an unlimited line of credit and also had direct access to customer deposits sent to Alameda’s bank account.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who also presided over SBF’s sentencing, highlighted the difference between the two defendants: while Ellison cooperated, SBF ‘denied the whole thing.’
Before the trial, Ellison’s lawyers had asked the court not to impose prison time, but instead a sentence of three years of probation.
Other former FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have also been charged but cooperated with prosecutors. Their sentences are scheduled for November 20 and October 30, respectively. Last March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison.
