On Sept. 24, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in a minimum-security prison for her role in FTX’s collapse.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Lewis Kaplan in the District Court of Southern New York, who determined that Ellison must also forfeit the roughly $11 billion she earned from FTX.
Kaplan said Ellison’s surrender date will be set on or after Nov. 7, 2024.
A light sentence
Ellison could have faced 110 years in prison for her crimes, but Lewis expressed considerable sympathy for her. According to Bloomberg, the judge told her:
“You’re a very strong person, Ms. Ellison, in some ways, but not inviolable. Mr. Bankman-Fried had your Kryptonite. […] You were vulnerable and you were exploited.”
Ellison clasped her hands in front of her as the sentence was read, while family members in attendance at the trial cried.
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The reclusive Ellison complained that she was subject to harassment from the crypto community in the media and in real life, which made her afraid to go out in public. She cooperated extensively with the prosecution in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried, her former colleague and purported boyfriend, so much so that the prosecution recommended leniency for her.
Source: Autism Capital
Ellison’s lawyers had asked the court to limit her prison sentence to time served, but Kaplan said at the sentencing that there would be no ‘get out of jail free” card.
More of the FTX cohort is still to be sentenced
The sentence points to the likelihood that co-defendants and former FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh will also serve jail time. Singh will be sentenced on Oct. 30 and Wang on Nov. 20. Like Ellison, they have also pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in March.
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This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.