Caroline Ellison Said She’s ‘Truly Sorry’ for Defrauding FTX Customers

• According to The New York Times, Caroline Ellison told a judge she was “genuinely sorry” for her involvement in the collapse of FTX.
• Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to seven counts on December 19.
• The charges included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud.

Caroline Ellison has apologized for her role in defrauding customers and investors of crypto exchange FTX, telling a judge she “knew it was wrong.”

The former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research told Manhattan Federal District Judge Ronnie Abrams, “I’m really sorry for what I did. I know it was wrong. He said,’ the paper reported.

The 28-year-old was released on $250,000 bond after pleading guilty to seven counts in the FTX case on Dec. 19. According to her plea bargain, the charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. The court opened the transcript of her judicial hearing on Dec. 22.

According to transcripts reviewed by The Times, Ellison told the judge she agreed with the decision of her ex-boyfriend Bankman Freed and others to hide the close relationship between FTX and Alameda. said it agreed with FTX’s decision to divert billions of dollars in customer deposits to repay Alameda’s loans.

According to the transcript of the hearing, reported by Bloomberg, “If Alameda’s FTX account has a significantly negative balance in a particular currency, it means that Alameda owes money that FTX customers have deposited with the exchange. I understood what you meant.”

She also admitted that FTX executives took billions of dollars in secret loans from Alameda, Reuters reported.

Ellison’s attorney did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has spent his life facilitating transactions in Alameda, paying off loans, buying real estate, lending money to FTX executives, and making millions of campaign donations. He faces eight criminal charges stemming from a scheme officials believe he orchestrated by misappropriating billions of dollars in customer deposits. .

He was extradited from FTX’s home Bahamas last week after being arrested on Dec. 12. Photos showed him “chilling” in the American Airlines lounge at JFK airport before heading to his parents’ home in California on Dec. 22.

FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after its November 11 bankruptcy, wiping out billions of dollars worth of customer deposits. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on the same day.