Caroline Ellison, a former high-ranking executive at Sam Bankman-Fried's now defunct cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday. Ellison's testimony, which the presiding judge referred to as "remarkable" at Tuesday's sentencing hearing, played a key role in her ex-boyfriend's conviction.
Ellison, 29, was sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
The judge referred to the FTX scam, which robbed customers of billions of dollars thanks to cooked numbers, as one of the worst financial frauds in United States history. Prosecutors had urged the judge to impose a "lenient" sentence due to Ellison's cooperation and crucial testimony.
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"While you were gravely culpable in this fraud, there is no doubt that you had remarkable cooperation," Judge Kaplan said. "That's a fundamental distinction between you and Mr Bankman-Fried."
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after the judge found that he did not show any remorse for his crimes.
Ellison had run the hedge fund Alameda Research, which had received much of the $8 billion in customer funds stolen by Bankman-Fried from FTX. The stolen money was then used for Alameda's trading operation and other purposes.
Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the largest political donors in the United States during the pivotal 2022 midterm elections.
"I've seen a lot of cooperators over the years and I've never seen one quite like Miss Ellison," said Judge Kaplan, who believes Ellison showed genuine remorse for her crimes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon had urged the court for leniency, stating that Ellison provided key testimony and did not attempt to downplay her role in the scheme.
"To make it literally a get out of jail free card is not something that I can my see my way clear to," Kaplan said before handing down her sentence. Ellison was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison and was ordered to forfeit $1.1 billion in ill-gotten gains.
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