Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison Senteced To 2 Years In Prison
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September 24, 2024 3:24 pm
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Former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison, who helped her boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried steal nearly $8 billion in customer funds, was sentenced to two years in prison.
Ellison, the CEO of the hedge fund Alameda Research, previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
Ellison faced a maximum of 110 years in prison but was let off lightly after testifying against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years for the fraud he committed that led to FTX’s collapse.
Before her sentencing, Ellison shared with the court, “The human brain is truly bad at understanding big numbers. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about all of the people I hurt.”
🚨NEW: CAROLINE ELLISON SENTENCED TO 24 MONTHS IN A MINIMUM SECURITY PRISON. SHE ALSO HAS TO FORFEIT $11B IN ASSETS. THE SURRENDER DATE SHOULD BE ON OR AFTER NOVEMBER 7TH, 2024
“THERE CANNOT BE A GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD.” – JUDGE KAPLAN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/GBTSAhQxBS
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) September 24, 2024
Per DeCrypt:
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding investors of crypto exchange FTX and its sister firm.
Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York handed down the light sentence, citing Ellison’s strong cooperation as a witness against former FTX fraud ringleader Sam Bankman-Fried last fall.
“I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years,” said Kaplan, per Bloomberg. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.”
Ellison reflected on the weight of her crimes in a statement to the court just before her sentencing.
“The human brain is truly bad at understanding big numbers,” Ellison said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about all of the people I hurt.”
Bankman-Fried received a 25-year sentence last fall, although he has appealed the decision.
Caroline Ellison gets 2-year prison sentence for FTX fraud https://t.co/SvXbyqOL2z
— Financial Times (@FT) September 24, 2024
Per The Daily Beast:
Caroline Ellison, the cryptocurrency executive who helped her ex-boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried steal $8 billion in customer funds, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for her role in the fraud.
Ellison, who ran the hedge fund tied to the digital currency trading platform FTX, pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
The relatively light sentence—as Ellison’s charges carried a maximum sentence of 110 years—comes after she testified against Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the fraud that led to FTX’s sudden collapse in Nov. 2022.
Before sentencing, prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to hand down a lenient sentence for Ellison, citing her “extraordinary cooperation” in the case against her boss and former boyfriend.
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