Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 2 years in jail for her position within the fraud scheme that led to the collapse of FTX.
Ellison had pleaded responsible to cash laundering and fraud prices, and had been the prosecution’s star witness throughout Bankman-Fried’s personal trial. Ellison had served as CEO of Alameda Analysis, a sister firm of FTX that had misappropriated billions in buyer funds from the crypto trade.
In line with The Wall Road Journal, Ellison mentioned at her sentencing listening to Tuesday, Sept. 24, “To all of the victims and everybody I harmed straight and not directly, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t even think about the ache I triggered.”
Ellison has been out on bail since December 2022. Her attorneys had been making an attempt to maintain her out of jail, and prosecutors didn’t even advocate a specific sentence, calling her cooperation “not solely substantial, however exemplary.” Nonetheless, Decide Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence saying her real regret and cooperation shouldn’t function a “get out of jail free card.” (Following her two years in jail, Ellison may also need to serve three years of supervised launch.)
Ellison was one in all three high FTX execs and associates who took plea offers following FTX’s collapse in November 2022. At one time, FTX was the third-largest crypto trade on the earth, however it crumbled days after stability sheets associated to Alameda Analysis have been leaked. The paperwork led to allegations that Bankman-Fried used the investments of FTX prospects to repay money owed and make aspect investments and contributions, transferring funds with out correct disclosure and oversight.
Ellison dropped a number of bombshells whereas testifying throughout Bankman-Fried’s trial. Amongst them: that Bankman-Fried and others bribed a Chinese language official $100 million to unfreeze $1 billion value of Alameda funds that had been caught on a China-based crypto trade. She additionally mentioned that in fall 2022, not lengthy earlier than FTX collapsed, Bankman-Fried tried to boost capital by promoting shares of FTX to Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman — an infusion of money that might’ve additionally helped cowl up the alleged fraud.
“If we have been in a position to increase cash, that was cash that we may use to repay the cash we had borrowed from FTX prospects,” Ellison mentioned through the trial.
As for her romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried, Ellison mentioned on the stand that she typically felt like an “unequal companion” of their relationship. The trial was additionally marred by Bankman-Fried’s alleged makes an attempt to intimidate Ellison: He infamously had his bail revoked for leaking her private writings about their relationship to The New York Instances, and prosecutors tried to argue he was intimidating her with laughter and scoffs throughout her testimony.
Bankman-Fried was finally discovered responsible and sentenced to 25 years in jail. He’s spent the previous 12 months in a Brooklyn jail as his attorneys prepped an enchantment, which was lastly filed earlier this month. (He’s additionally, reportedly, sleeping in the identical cell as Sean Combs.)