A federal judge in New York has sentenced Caroline Ellison, ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried to two years in prison for her role in the FTX $8 billion fraud case. Judge Lewis Kaplan said that despite the sentencing, Ellison behaved much differently than her ex-boyfriend did throughout the proceedings, saying she provided “very, very substantial” cooperation.
Bankman-Fried was convicted as charged and is currently serving a 25-year sentence. However, Ellison will only serve 24 months. “She cooperated and he denied the whole thing,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said. “I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.” However, the judge added that even extraordinary cooperation could not be a “get out of jail free card.”
Caroline Ellison Shares Regret Following 2-Year Prison Sentence
Following her sentencing, Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend shared her remorse with the courtroom. “I want to apologize most of all to the victims,” Ellison said, sniffling through tears. “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about all the people I hurt.” She added she was “deeply ashamed” by her conduct that enabled what the defense conceded was an “enormous and extraordinary fraud.” It exposed Ellison to 110 years in prison but her attorney sought a sentence without prison time. “She has recovered her moral compass,” defense attorney Anjan Sahni said in court. “Caroline Ellison is a good person who, at 29 years old, can still make a positive impact on the world.”
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Even the prosecution ultimately agreed with the decision. “Caroline Ellison deserves leniency,” assistant United States attorney Danielle Sassoon said. “A lenient sentence is also what is just.”
Caroline Ellison was convicted on Monday of seven charges: wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX’s customers; wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Alameda Research’s lenders; conspiracy to commit securities fraud on FTX’s investors; conspiracy to commit commodities fraud on FTX’s customers; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. It is not yet known where she will serve her time.
