{"id":2345105,"date":"2024-09-24T03:19:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T07:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-girlfriend-of-ftx-founder-to-be-sentenced-for-fraud-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T03:20:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T07:20:59","slug":"ex-girlfriend-of-ftx-founder-to-be-sentenced-for-fraud-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-girlfriend-of-ftx-founder-to-be-sentenced-for-fraud-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-girlfriend of FTX founder to be sentenced for fraud &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-girlfriend-of-ftx-founder-to-be-sentenced-for-fraud-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2345105&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Caroline \u200cEllison, \u200cthe\u2063 former \u2063girlfriend of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and \u200cCEO of Alameda Research, is set to be sentenced for her\u200d involvement \u2064in the collapse of \u200cthe \u2063cryptocurrency \u2062exchange FTX and its associated hedge fund. Prosecutors and Ellison\u2019s defense are seeking leniency, highlighting her critical testimony against Bankman-Fried during his trial, where \u200dshe recounted\u200d how he defrauded nearly\u2064 $8 billion from investors and\u200b misused funds for personal\u200b purposes. <\/p>\n<p>Her testimony included revelations about a\u200b $100 million bribe to Chinese officials to regain access \u200dto frozen\u2062 funds, as well as emotional\u2063 accounts of her relationship with \u2063Bankman-Fried, illustrating \u200cboth his\u200c mistreatment of her and his \u2064awareness of deceptive practices. <\/p>\n<p>Ellison, who has a background as the daughter of \u200cMIT \u200beconomics professors, became involved with Bankman-Fried in 2015 and was persuaded to \u2064join his trading firm, \u200cAlameda Research, in 2018. \u2063Following FTX\u2019s downfall in November 2022, she pled \u200dguilty to fraud\u2063 and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. The trial concluded with Bankman-Fried being convicted on multiple counts of fraud, leading to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/proud-boy-enrique-tarrios-jan-6-sentencing-abruptly-rescheduled\/\" title=\"Enrique Tarrio&#039;s Jan. 6 sentencing rescheduled suddenly.\">significant prison sentence<\/a>. Ellison\u2019s sentencing is yet to occur as she awaits the judge&#8217;s decision.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ex-girlfriend of FTX founder to be sentenced for fraud<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1613800\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2447117\/sam-bankman-fried-trial-caroline-ellison-ex-girlfriend-of-ftx-founder-to-testify\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Caroline Ellison\">Caroline Ellison<\/a>, the ex-girlfriend and top executive in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2434067\/sam-bankman-fried-found-guilty-of-fraud-ftx-founder-facing-100-years-in-prison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Sam Bankman-Fried's\">Sam Bankman-Fried&rsquo;s<\/a> cryptocurrency empire, will be sentenced Tuesday for her role in the collapse of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ftx\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"crypto exchange FTX\">crypto exchange FTX<\/a> and its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Ellison&rsquo;s defense team and prosecutors have asked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysd.uscourts.gov\/hon-lewis-kaplan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Judge Lewis Kaplan\">Judge Lewis Kaplan<\/a> for leniency, claiming her testimony against Bankman-Fried was key in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-grants-gop-lawmaker-standing-to-sue-biden-administration-over-unrwa-funding-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Texas judge grants GOP lawmaker standing to sue Biden administration over UNRWA funding - Washington Examiner\">federal government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s case against him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, enters the wrong car as she exits the Manhattan federal court after testifying on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo\/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ellison was CEO of Alameda Research, a channel through which Bankman-Fried defrauded millions of FTX investors out of nearly $8 billion in deposits. Funds from FTX were improperly used to cover billions of dollars lost by Bankman-Fried in investments and to fuel his lavish lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison was the government&rsquo;s star witness in the lengthy trial and spent nearly three days on the stand, often delivering emotional testimony about how Bankman-Fried mistreated her and knowingly defrauded investors. She also described, in detail, an incriminating spreadsheet that Bankman-Fried used to mislead business partners and testified in front of a packed courtroom in Manhattan that he knew what he was doing all along.<\/p>\n<p>She also told the jury that she and Bankman-Fried bribed Chinese officials with $100 million to regain access to more than a billion dollars in frozen cryptocurrency so they could continue their con to cheat investors out of their money. Alameda Research had its funds frozen on Chinese crypto exchanges OKX and Huobi.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison told jurors that Bankman-Fried should be held accountable for all the crimes against him that led to FTX&rsquo;s implosion.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison, the daughter of Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professors, met Bankman-Fried when she was a summer intern at Jane Street, a global proprietary trading firm, in 2015. Three years later, the duo met for coffee in San Francisco, and Bankman-Fried convinced her to join Alameda Research, his new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-crypto-trader-wintermute-hit-by-160-million-hack-ceo-says-2\/\" title=\"Major crypto trader Wintermute hit by 0 million hack, CEO says\">crypto trading firm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this courtroom sketch, Caroline Ellison, right, testifies as she is questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon as FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, far left, looks on in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Over the next few years, Ellison followed Bankman-Fried to Hong Kong and then to the Bahamas, where he set up his headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>The two started an on-again, off-again relationship that turned problematic on several occasions. Ellison considered leaving Alameda Research, but Bankman-Fried convinced her to stay, telling her she &ldquo;was essential to the survival of the business and that he loved her,&rdquo; according to a pre-sentencing memo written by her lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>During one bizarre twist ahead of the trial, Bankman-Fried sent the <em>New York Times<\/em> entries from Ellison&rsquo;s personal diary to show she was unstable, a move that landed him in hot water with the judge and resulted in his bail being revoked.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A lot of what stresses me out about work is specifically failing Sam or Sam&rsquo;s disapproval,&rdquo; Ellison wrote in the summer of 2020. &ldquo;I get easily upset when he disagrees with me or criticizes me, in a way that I don&rsquo;t think I get upset if other people do the same things.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During the trial, Bankman-Fried&rsquo;s legal team painted Ellison as a deeply insecure woman who wasn&rsquo;t very good at her job, failed to follow instructions, and didn&rsquo;t deserve the massive salary she pulled in.<\/p>\n<p>The jury on Nov. 2 found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty of seven fraud and conspiracy counts in what prosecutors called one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-doj-calls-crypto-crook-sbfs-scheme-one-of-biggest-financial-frauds-in-american-history\/\" title=\"WATCH: DOJ Calls Crypto Crook SBF\u2019s Scheme One of \u2018Biggest Financial Frauds in American History\u2019\">biggest financial frauds<\/a> in U.S. history. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March. The sentence marked the fall of Bankman-Fried, who went from being a billionaire and major political donor to the biggest trophy in the U.S. authorities&rsquo; case of wrongdoing in cryptocurrency markets.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court, June 15, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo\/Bebeto Matthews, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ellison, 29, pleaded guilty to fraud soon after FTX&rsquo;s collapse in November 2022. She quickly cut a deal with prosecutors to testify against Bankman-Fried.<\/p>\n<p>In a court filing earlier this month, her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alex-murdaugh-found-guilty-of-killing-wife-son\/\" title=\"Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty Of Killing Wife, Son\">defense lawyers asked<\/a> if she could be sentenced to three years of supervised release and no prison time. They portrayed Ellison as a talented woman who was caught up in Bankman-Fried&rsquo;s web and ended up aiding his illegal activity.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She regrets her role deeply and will carry shame and remorse to her grave,&rdquo; according to the memo filed by her lawyers in federal court.<\/p>\n<p>In the government&rsquo;s filing, prosecutors did not recommend a specific sentence for Ellison but said her cooperation with them was &ldquo;not only substantial but exemplary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\" \"> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ellison was one of four former people in Bankman-Fried&rsquo;s inner circle who pleaded guilty in the case. Gary Wang, FTX co-founder, and Nishad Singh, former FTX engineering chief, both testified at Bankman-Fried&rsquo;s trial and will be sentenced in November and October.<\/p>\n<p>Former FTX Digital Markets Co-Chief Ryan Salame, who did not cut a deal with the government, was sentenced to 7 1\/2 years behind bars for making illegal campaign donations. He was also found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1613800\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1613800\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend and a key executive in Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s cryptocurrency business, is set to be sentenced on Tuesday for her involvement in the downfall of the FTX exchange and its associated hedge fund, Alameda Research. Both her defense team and prosecutors have requested leniency from Judge Lewis Kaplan, arguing that her testimony against Bankman-Fried was crucial to the federal case against him. <\/p>\n<p>As CEO of Alameda Research, Ellison played a significant role in defrauding millions of FTX investors out of nearly $8 billion. Funds from FTX were misappropriated to cover substantial losses incurred by Bankman-Fried&#8217;s investments and to support his extravagant lifestyle. During a lengthy trial where she served as the government&#8217;s star witness, Ellison provided emotional testimony over three days about how Bankman-Fried mistreated her while knowingly deceiving investors. She detailed an incriminating spreadsheet he used to mislead business partners and testified that he was aware of his actions throughout.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison also revealed that she and Bankman-Fried bribed Chinese officials with $100 million to regain access to over a billion dollars in frozen cryptocurrency so they could continue their fraudulent activities against investors. Her testimony indicated that they had funds frozen on Chinese crypto exchanges OKX and Huobi.<\/p>\n<p>The daughter of MIT economics professors, Ellison met Bankman-Fried during an internship at Jane Street in 2015. Three years later, after meeting for coffee in San Francisco, she joined Alameda Research at his persuasion. Their relationship became complicated over time; although she considered leaving the company at times due to issues with him, he convinced her otherwise by claiming she was vital for its survival.<\/p>\n<p>In an unusual turn before the trial began, Bankman-Fried shared excerpts from Ellison\u2019s personal diary with The New York Times as evidence of her instability\u2014an action that backfired on him legally and resulted in his bail being revoked.<\/p>\n<p>During the trial proceedings, his legal team portrayed Ellison as insecure and incompetent at her job despite earning a high salary. On November 2nd, jurors found Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts related to fraud and conspiracy\u2014deemed one of America&#8217;s largest financial frauds\u2014and he received a 25-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison pleaded guilty shortly after FTX collapsed in November 2022 and quickly agreed to testify against him as part of a deal with prosecutors. In recent court documents filed by her defense attorneys earlier this month, they requested no prison time but rather three years of supervised release instead; they characterized Ellison as talented yet ensnared by Bankman-Fried\u2019s illegal operations\u2014a situation she deeply regrets.<\/p>\n<p>While prosecutors did not suggest a specific sentence for Ellison&#8217;s cooperation was described as &#8220;substantial but exemplary.&#8221; She is among four individuals close to Bankman-Fried who have pleaded guilty; others include Gary Wang (co-founder) and Nishad Singh (former engineering chief), both set for sentencing soon after testifying against him. Ryan Salame (former co-chief) received 7\u00bd years behind bars without making any deals with authorities due to illegal campaign contributions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2345106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolineellison2.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[10169,6909,7334,4133,12447],"class_list":["post-2345105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ex-girlfriend","tag-fraud","tag-ftx","tag-news","tag-sentencing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolineellison2.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2345105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2345106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2345105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2345105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2345105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}