Caroline Ellison reports to federal prison to start sentence

Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive officer of Alameda Research, has begun her two-year prison sentence following her conviction related to the FTX crypto exchange collapse.

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

CNBC reported Ellison’s incarceration at the federal facility on Nov. 7, citing information from a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson.

Judge Lewis Kaplan handed the former Alameda Research exec a two-year sentence in September, with the court also ordering that she forfeit $11 billion.

The judge declined the government’s recommendation for a three-year supervised release, stating that serving prison time despite her cooperation would emphasize that fraud is a severe criminal offense warranting deterrence.

FTX collapsed in November 2022, triggering a significant downturn in the crypto market amid a broader contagion that had affected the industry since that summer. While Ellison agreed to a plea deal, Bankman-Fried went to trial, showing limited remorse for his involvement in FTX’s downfall.

Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024. He has lodged an appeal for the conviction.

Meanwhile, former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in jail in May. Another ex-FTX exec Nishad Singh, recently escaped jail term but got three years of supervised release.