Caroline Ellison reports to federal prison to start sentence

Former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, began a two-year prison sentence following her conviction in the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

Ellison, who struck a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors and served as the star witness in the case against FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, will serve his sentence at a low-security prison in Connecticut.

CNBC reported that Ellison was incarcerated at the federal facility on Nov. 7, citing a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson.

Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced the former Alameda Research executive to two years in prison in September; The court also ordered him to forfeit $11 billion.

The judge rejected the government’s recommendation of three years of supervised release, stating that a prison sentence despite his cooperation would highlight that fraud is a serious crime that requires deterrence.

FTX crashed in November 2022, triggering a significant downturn in the crypto market amid a broader pandemic that has affected the industry since that summer. While Ellison accepted the plea deal, Bankman-Fried appeared in court and showed limited remorse for his involvement in FTX’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024. He appealed the conviction.

Meanwhile, former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in May. Another former FTX executive, Nishad Singh, recently escaped prison time but was sentenced to three years probation.