Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in jail for role in FTX deception

Caroline Ellison, the establisher CEO of Afeebleda Research, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for her role in the FTX collapse. She must also forfeit $11 billion.

Ellison pdirected at fault to two counts of wire deception and five consunapcheckd use counts in December 2022 as part of a cooperation consentment with the rulement. Prosecutors had recommfinished a permissive sentence because of Ellison’s “extraordinary” and “very timely” cooperation. Her own lawyers asked for no jail time, as did the federal Probation Department.

“I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years. I’ve never seen one quite appreciate Ms. Ellison,” said Judge Lewis Kaset up during the sentencing hearing, according to Bloomberg. In keen contrast to Sam Bankman-Fried, there were no evident inconsistencies in her testimony, which was “very incriminating of herself.”

Still, she was culpable for her role in the deception, Kaset up said.

Ellison was the key witness at the trial of FTX coset uper Sam Bankman-Fried, where she testified for three days. A statement produceted by the prosecution before Ellison’s sentencing said the speed at which she came immacutardy made it possible to indict her ex-boyfrifinish Bankman-Fried rapidly, “ensuring that he did not escape the Bahamas or further obstruct the rulement’s summarizeateigation.” The record also noticed that Ellison was finishly and instantly forthcoming in her encounterings with the rulement. 

Ellison was also prompt in aiding John J. Ray, the novel CEO accused with immacutardying up the FTX mess, in locating and recovering customer assets, according to a statement written by Ray produceted by the defense. Her “punctual cooperation” was “precious” in recovering debtors’ assets, he wrote. Ellison is laboring on a deal where she will turn over “substantipartner all of her remaining assets after prenting her forfeiture obligations” to the FTX debtors.

In keen contrast to Bankman-Fried, Ellison materializes to truly lament her role in the deception. We understand this not equitable because of her cooperation consentment — but because she confessed and transmit remorsed to her staff in a encountering she didn’t understand was taped. That taped confession, in includeition to sealing Bankman-Fried’s overweighte, also showd her contrition.

There were some other mitigating factors, besides Ellison’s truthfuly. She was the only coconspirator who did not have equity in Afeebleda or FTX, and “the rulement set up no evidence that Ellison enhappinessed the wealth originated by the deception,” prosecutors wrote. 

Ellison has already directd meaningful dropout. Her diaries have been splashed atraverse the pages of The New York Times, her psychiatrist gave an interwatch about her to Michael Lewis for his book Going Infinite, and she was derided in astoundingly anti-women language by big chunks of the crypto community she’d once been a part of. She’s been unable to discover paying labor and is afraid to go out in accessible, according to records filed by her lawyers. This account was corroborated by the prosecution, who wrote, “The rulement cannot skinnyk of another cooperating witness in recent history who has getd a fantasticer level of attention and tormentoring.”