‘The whole time that we were dating, he was also my boss at work, which created some awkward situations,’ Caroline Ellision stated.
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of FTX-affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research, testified on Oct. 11 that Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded both Alameda and the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, told her to commit financial fraud.
At the start of her testimony, Ms. Ellison confirmed that she had committed the crimes of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering, to which she pleaded guilty in December 2022. As part of a plea agreement, she appeared as a witness for the prosecution at Mr. Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud trial, which began last week.
“He directed me to commit these crimes,” she testified, referring to Mr. Bankman-Fried.
Mr. Bankman-Fried is facing seven counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. If found guilty, he could face decades in prison.
Ms. Ellison also told jurors that Alameda Research had lent money to Mr. Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives, which they used to make political donations. As Alameda’s CEO, Ms. Ellison was paid more than $20 million in salary and bonus in 2021, and during much of her tenure, she was also engaged in a romantic relationship with Mr. Bankman-Fried, she said.
Ms. Ellison said that she dated Mr. Bankman-Fried while running Alameda Research.
Mr. Bankman-Fried founded Alameda Research as a cryptocurrency trading company in 2017 and founded FTX in 2019, together with Gary Wang. FTX quickly rose to become one of the largest and most trusted platforms for cryptocurrency trading, with more than 1 million users at its peak.
A Billionaire and Philanthropist
Before FTX collapsed in 2022, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s net worth was estimated to be more than $16 billion, although some estimates put it as high as $26 billion. He was lauded in the media as a selfless philanthropist who sought to generate wealth in order to give it away to causes ranging from global warming to fighting pandemics.
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