Former Alameda Research CEO Very Cooperative During Trial Involved in FTX

Key Points:

• Ellison, former Alameda Research CEO, played a key role in securing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction by cooperating extensively with prosecutors.
• Despite facing intense public harassment and media exposure, Ellison’s cooperation may lead to a lighter sentence.

According to Bloomberg, federal prosecutors praised Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO, for her help in investigating FTX’s multibillion-dollar fraud, but she is relentlessly attacked and hounded online.

Read more: FTX Audit Firm Reaches Agreement With SEC Over $3.15 Million Fine

Ellison’s Cooperation Crucial in Bankman-Fried Conviction

Ellison, 29, played a leading role in uncovering the scheme led by Bankman-Fried, her onetime boyfriend, who received a 25-year prison sentence for misappropriating $8 billion of customer money from FTX to pay for losses elsewhere within Alameda.

At the outset, prosecutors withheld from recommending an exact sentence for Ellison but implored US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to take into consideration her cooperation-which entailed upwards of 20-plus meetings with investigators, culminating in three days of emotional testimony on the stand.

The former Alameda Research CEO had been described as a critical contributor to the case. Ellison is testifying that Bankman-Fried orchestrated the misappropriation of FTX customer money to fund one of Alameda’s high-risk businesses. She also testified he downplayed ethical considerations in pursuit of a greater good, or stealing was things to be overlooked.

Ellison was described by prosecutors as having been cooperative throughout this case, even when it became personally embarrassing or hard for her to testify to.

FTX Executives Plead Guilty in $8 Billion Fraud Scandal

Despite cooperating, Ellison has been under relentless media attack. Prosecutors said she was exposed and harassed much more than most criminal defendants, added to which Bankman-Fried had leaked her personal diary to the press. Her lawyers asked for leniency – no time in prison – while prosecutors – with the US probation department – wanted three years of supervised release.

The former Alameda Research CEO is one of the few FTX executives who have testified and entered a guilty plea since the exchange collapsed in November 2022. Co-founders Gary Wang and Nishad Singh testified against Bankman-Fried and are set to be sentenced later this year.