Caroline Ellison sentenced to 2 years in prison over massive FTX crypto-scandal

The 29-year-old former girlfriend to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for her part in the massive cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

‘I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.’

Caroline Ellison had been the CEO of Alameda Research, a privately-controlled hedge fund that Bankman-Fried had been improperly funneling money into from the massive FTX cryptocurrency exchange. In Dec. 2022, Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts related to the scheme, including conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Although she faced up to 110 years in prison for the seven charges, a judge in New York gave her a shortened sentence due to her “very, very substantial” cooperation with the government’s case against her former boyfriend and other FTX executives.

“She cooperated and he denied the whole thing,” said Judge Lewis Kaplan. “I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.”

Bankman-Fried had previously been ordered by Kaplan to turn over $11 billion in funds to the government in order to compensate the victims of the FTX scandal. He was convicted on seven charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Kaplan went on to note that Bankman-Fried continued to claim innocence while Ellison had expressed guilt and regret.

“You are genuinely remorseful,” the judge continued. “He’s sorry the gamble he took didn’t work out, and he’s really sorry he got caught.”

Ellison apologized for his behavior at a podium before the sentence was announced.

“I want to apologize most of all to the victims,” ​​said a tearful Ellison. “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about all the people I hurt.”

Bankman-Fried has filed an appeal of the conviction on the basis that it was an unfair trial a year after he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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