- Lawyers for Caroline Ellison say the former Alameda Research CEO shouldn’t go to prison for her role in the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.
- Ellison was the star witness for the Department of Justice in its prosecution of FTX founder Bankman-Fried, who was also an ex-boyfriend.
- Ellison’s attorneys suggested in a filing that their client should be sentenced to time served and supervised release because of her swift cooperation with the government.
Lawyers for Caroline Ellison, the star witness in the prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, are recommending no prison time for their client’s role in the implosion of the crypto empire that was run by her former boss and ex-boyfriend.
In a court filing Tuesday night, the attorneys said that, at most, Ellison should be sentenced to time served and supervised release because of her swift return to the U.S. from FTX’s Bahamas headquarters in 2022 and her choice to voluntarily cooperate with the U.S. attorney’s office and financial regulators in helping them understand what went wrong at FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s case, cited Ellison’s testimony when he decided in March to sentence the FTX founder to 25 years behind bars.