Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of Alameda Research, received a two-year prison sentence in a minimum-security prison.
Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of Alameda Research, received a two-year prison sentence in a minimum-security prison.
Judge Lewis Kaplan from District Court of Southern New York handed her the sentence on September 24th, as part of the ongoing legal saga that has resulted from one of the most high-profile failures in crypto history.
Despite the possibility of up to 110 years in prison on charges brought against her, Ellison was handed what has been described as a relatively lenient sentence. Judge Kaplan was sympathetic to Ellison's position, acknowledging forces in her relationship with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried: "You're a very strong person, Ms. Ellison, in some ways, but not inviolable. Mr. Bankman-Fried had your Kryptonite," Kaplan said, implying she had been open to victimization because of her susceptibility.
Ellison was also ordered to forfeit around $11 billion in earnings from FTX. Her sentencing date is on or after November 7, 2024. Cooperation with prosecutors against Bankman-Fried played a major role in Ellison's lenient sentence. Her cooperation resulted in prosecutors asking for leniency, though Judge Kaplan made it very clear that there would be no "get out of jail free" card.
Ellison's sentencing is part of the wider legal fallout following the collapse of FTX, while others await their fates. Two former executives from FTX, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have pleaded guilty to charges against them, with sentences due to be passed on November 20 and October 30, respectively.
Another former executive at FTX, Ryan Salame, was given a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence back in May. Most notably of all, the founder and former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 25 years back in March for his main role in the exchange's downfall.
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