Ex-Alameda Research CEO to report to prison for 2-year sentence

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison is expected to report to prison on Nov. 7 to serve her two-year sentence for her role in crimes at cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

At the time of publication, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website stated Ellison was not in custody but provided an inmate number and her age, race, and sex. On Sept. 24, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Ellison to two years in prison, where she is expected to surrender no earlier than Nov. 7.

According to Judge Kaplan, the BOP ordered Ellison to appear at a correctional facility before 2:00 pm ET on Nov. 7. The former Alameda CEO is expected to surrender at a minimum security facility near Boston, suggesting that she could serve her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, which houses both male and female inmates.  

Ellison would be the third individual named in the indictment of FTX and Alameda executives to report to prison following the trial and conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and a guilty plea from former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame. Judge Kaplan sentenced Nishad Singh, the former engineering director of FTX, to time served in October. 

Related: In prison and awaiting sentencing — Where are the FTX execs now?

In 2022, after FTX’s collapse, Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud and money laundering related to the misuse of user funds between the crypto exchange and Alameda. She also testified at the 2023 criminal trial of Bankman-Fried — whom she briefly dated — which resulted in a guilty verdict on all counts.

‘Mocked in memes’ and other harassment on and offline

Next to Bankman-Fried, Ellison was arguably one of the most prominent public faces of the FTX collapse in November 2022, when the exchange experienced a liquidity crisis, the CEO resigned, and the firm filed for bankruptcy. Prosecutors noted in a September sentencing memo that Ellison had been the subject of intense “attention and harassment” by the public and the media.

“While public scrutiny of a criminal defendant’s or cooperator’s criminal misconduct is understandable, Ellison endured far more than that,” said the US government filing. “She was mobbed outside the courthouse for comment and photographs, making it difficult to enter and exit without an escort, her physical appearance was scrutinized and criticized, and she was mocked in memes and other content on social media.”

FTX co-founder Gary Wang will likely be the last person in the indictment to face Judge Kaplan for sentencing. Like Singh, he has asked the court to sentence him to time served following a guilty plea and for his testimony at Bankman-Fried’s trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20.

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