The former CEO of FTX sister company Alameda Research reportedly received a sentence of two years in prison on Tuesday.
Caroline Ellison, one of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s top advisors and his ex-girlfriend, served as star witness in the FTX trial that ended with the former crypto golden boy’s conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
The New York Times reports that Ellison, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Bankman-Friend to steal $8 billion worth of FTX customers’ assets, will also be subject to supervised release for three years after her prison sentence ends.
The prosecutors did not recommend a specific sentence for Ellison. Instead, they filed a memo praising her exemplary cooperation with the government. Ellison’s lawyers also made a request for their client not to serve prison time.
Said Judge Lewis A. Kaplan before announcing the sentence,
“I have seen a lot of cooperators. I have never seen one like Ms. Ellison. What she said on the stand was very incriminating of herself, and she pulled no punches about it.”
Kaplan said that he believes Ellison is genuinely remorseful and that, unlike Bankman-Fried, she was honest in her testimony. Despite these, he said he could not spare Ellison from jail time because of the severity of the fraud.
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