• Alameda Research’s former executive was sentenced to two years in prison after the attorney’s office pleaded with the court. 

• Caroline Ellison was found “highly culpable” for the crimes, but her cooperation was greatly appreciated. 

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to seven felony counts of fraud and conspiracy. According to legal experts, the crimes to which she pleaded guilty warranted a maximum prison sentence of 110 years. 

The Background of Her Sentence and Role at Alameda Research

In 2019, one of the most popular crypto exchanges, FTX, emerged into the scene with Sam-Bankman Fried (SBF), who is known as the founder. In just two years of operation, the platform had become the third biggest crypto exchange in the world with a $32 billion valuation. In 2022, SBF and the exchange came under serious pressure after what earlier appeared to be an accounting oversight tended to be one of the biggest frauds in history. 

According to documents, customers’ deposits were discovered to have been unlawfully transferred to an account controlled by Alameda Research – another trading platform founded by SBF. At that time, Ellison lived and worked at Alameda Research’s offices and apartments in the Bahamas. After the arrest, Ellison remained freed and agreed to cooperate in criminal investigations by testifying as a prosecution witness in the SBF’s trial. 

In one of the updates published by CNF, Ellison admitted that a system was set up for her to channel money out of the exchange. In addition to that, the firm’s balance sheet was modified to hide this from third parties. According to her, these frauds were committed by the instructions of SBF. 

What Transpired at the Court

At the court, Ellison’s lawyer, Anjan Sahni, pleaded with the U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan at the Manhattan federal court to spare the defendant from prison for her cooperation, honesty, and openness. 

(This) would send a powerful message about the value of timely, honest, and cooperation with the government in cases of financial crime.

The judge also agreed that Ellison fully cooperated in a way he had never witnessed in his 32 years of work. However, he outlined that the 29-year-old was gravely culpable of the fraud. 

There’s no way you’re ever going to do something like this again, I am persuaded. But here’s the thing: this was, if not the very greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country or anywhere else, close to it.

Ellison’s statement at a court was full of apology and regret, which was addressed to the judge and in front of his parents and two sisters. She said:

Not a day goes by when I don’t think about all the people I hurt. My brain can’t even truly comprehend the scale of the harm I’ve caused. That doesn’t mean I don’t try…Every time I thought about it, I heard Sam’s voice in my head. Ignoring that voice in my head and speaking out would have been brave. I’m sorry I wasn’t brave.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which brought the charges, pleaded on Ellison’s behalf, urging the judge to go easy on her since the importance of her testimony in convicting SBF cannot be overstated. 

As we earlier reported, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison but has appealed the fraud charges, claiming he never stole customers’ funds. FTX auditor Prager Metis has also reached a settlement of $1.95 million with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to audit FTX’s financial book to discover the inconsistencies.