Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-partner to jail. Caroline Ellison was involved in the FTX stock exchange case

Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison by a New York court on Tuesday. The verdict was handed down in connection with her involvement in the theft of eight billion dollars belonging to customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The 29-year-old provided assistance to Sam Bankman-Fried, her former boss and life partner. According to prosecutors, the case remains one of the largest financial frauds in history USAIn March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with the case.

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Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The crimes could have carried a combined sentence of 110 years in prison. Because of her extensive cooperation, which included about 20 meetings with law enforcement and detailed testimony, prosecutors had appealed for a lenient sentence for the 29-year-old. “Unlike Bankman-Fried, (Ellison) is not cunning. There is no evidence that she was driven by greed or that an appetite for power or risk are part of her nature,” U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said.

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Lewis Kaplan, the judge ruling in the case, admitted that Caroline Ellison's cooperation with the justice system was “extraordinary” and that the possibility of the 29-year-old committing a similar crime again is doubtful. He emphasized, however, that remorse and cooperation with the services cannot be a “get out of jail free card.” Kaplan also ordered Ellison to repay $11 billion that she embezzled during her activities for FTX. Referring to the prison sentence, however, he recommended that the American serve her sentence in a minimum-security facility.

“There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about all the people I've hurt,” Ellison said before her sentencing. “My brain can't fully comprehend the scale of the harm I've done. But that doesn't mean I'm not trying,” the woman added. The 29-year-old is set to begin serving her sentence in November.

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In 2021-2022, Ellison headed Alameda Research, a hedge fund founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. He was also behind the success and subsequent collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In 2022, the exchange was one of the largest in the world. In November of that year, however, following rumors of its financial problems, customers rushed to withdraw six billion dollars from the exchange. The panic led to the collapse of FTX and the revelation of Bankman-Fried's crimes, which included withdrawing funds belonging to its customers from the exchange and using them to support Alameda Research.

In November 2023 Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud and money launderingIn March of this year, the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Trials for two FTX executives involved in the case, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, are scheduled for October and November.

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