Caroline Ellison sentenced to 24 months in prison over FTX fraud

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, has been sentenced to two years in prison
Ellison will also forfeit $11 billion

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, has been handed a 24-month prison sentence.

Ellison pleaded guilty to charges related to her role in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, her former boss and boyfriend. She will also have to forfeit all that she gained from FTX.

Per the court ruling on September 24, Ellison will lose $11 billion.

24 months and forfeit all of her gains from FTX. Honestly more than I thought Caroline was gonna get after the glowing comments from the Judge. pic.twitter.com/hbrWtIUOIp

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 24, 2024

Despite the two-year sentence, Judge Lewis Kaplan praised the former Alameda CEO for her co-operation.

“I’ve seen a lot of co-operators in 30 years,” Judge Kaplan noted. “I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.”

Bloomberg reports that Ellison was held to account for her culpability while at the same time acknowledging that she was “vulnerable” and had been exploited.

“You’re a very strong person, Ms. Ellison, in some ways, but not inviolable,” Kaplan said.

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this year. SBF was found guilty on all counts, including fraud. Before his imprisonment, Bankman-Fried has also been accused of leaking Ellison’s diary.