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 chief executive officer of Alameda Research, has been handed a 24-month prison sentence.

Ellison, who pleaded guilty to charges related to her role in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, will however have to forfeit all that she gained from FTX. Per the court ruling on Sept. 24, Ellison will forfeit $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 cooperators in 30 years. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison,” the judge noted.

Bloomberg also reports that the held Ellison 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,” Judge 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.