Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison Officially Sentenced in FTX Case

In the latest development of the 2022 FTX collapse, which shook the financial world, on September 24, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to two years in prison during a trial in New York. This marks the conclusion for one of the key figures in the FTX collapse, which caused billions of dollars in losses for global investors.

Ellison, who was the CEO of Alameda Research and the former partner of Sam Bankman-Fried, quickly “flipped” after FTX’s downfall. Just a month after the collapse, she pled guilty and agreed to testify against her former colleagues in hopes of leniency. In court, Ellison once again expressed deep remorse. Judge Kaplan acknowledged her sincere regret, even remarking that it was a rare case in his 30 years of experience. However, due to the severity of the crimes, the sentence remained unchanged as a deterrent.

In addition to the two-year prison sentence, Ellison faces the responsibility of addressing the massive $11 billion loss. However, she will serve her sentence at a “low-security” facility, a detail reflecting some level of leniency from the court.

The FTX case does not end with Ellison. Other close associates of Sam Bankman-Fried, such as Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame, have also pled guilty and faced sentencing. Notably, Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison and 3 years of probation in May this year.

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, which lasted more than a month at the end of 2023, revealed serious misconduct at FTX, ranging from illegal use of customer funds to system loopholes that allowed withdrawals without detection.

With this sentence, Caroline Ellison will have to serve at least 75% of her prison time before being eligible for early release, as per U.S. law. This can be seen as the final chapter in the collapse of one of the largest crypto empires in the world and a stark warning to the global financial community.