The Spectre of Sam Bankman-Fried Overshadowed Caroline Ellison’s Sentencing

Caroline Ellison, flanked by her attorneys, was sentenced final week to 2 years in jail and three years of supervised launch for her position in supporting FTX and Alameda Analysis.

24 months

Caroline Ellison was not the primary character at her personal sentencing listening to.

When a federal prosecutor and an lawyer took the stand to debate Caroline Ellison’s conduct earlier than and after FTX’s collapse, her former boss — and sure, ex-boyfriend — Sam Bankman-Fried was entrance and middle.

Bankman-Fried was convicted a 12 months in the past and sentenced greater than six months in the past. Neither he nor any of his representatives had a task in Ellison’s listening to final Tuesday. And but a lot of Ellison’s actions had been offered within the context of Bankman-Fried’s habits.

Assistant U.S. Lawyer Danielle Sassoon, the prosecutor who toyed with Bankman-Fried throughout his cross-examination final 12 months and led to indelibly awkward interactions, contrasted Ellison with the FTX founder on Tuesday.

Bankman-Fried confirmed no regret, whereas Ellison did. Bankman-Fried posed a risk, whereas Ellison posed no threat of recidivism. Bankman-Fried was the mastermind behind FTX’s sketchy actions, whereas Ellison was merely finishing up her former boss’s orders, Sassoon insisted in her opening assertion.

“Your Honor had the chance to watch Ms. Ellison’s habits as she testified on the stand,” she mentioned. “She was the identical individual she got here to supply with [the DOJ in 2022 and 2023] …from an attitudinal standpoint alone, this was a pointy distinction to Bankman-Fried.

Anjan Sahni, the Wilmer Hale associate who represented Ellison on the sales space, spoke a bit extra about Ellison as an individual, however nonetheless contrasted her with Bankman-Fried. Her position at Alameda was on account of Bankman-Fried, the concealment of Alameda’s monetary state of affairs was accomplished at Bankman-Fried’s request. The central query of how Ellison received to a sentencing listening to after pleading responsible to fraud and conspiracy prices boiled all the way down to “why did Caroline go along with Sam Bankman-Fried,” he mentioned.

The actual tragedy, Sahni mentioned, was “how shortly and unnecessarily Miss Ellison’s trajectory unfolded,” when she got here into contact with Bankman-Fried.

“Over time, her complete skilled and private life revolved round Bankman-Fried,” he mentioned. Ellison’s major concern was being “ok” for crypto’s one-time golden boy. When he confirmed romantic curiosity in Ellison, it was “actually thrilling” for her.

She had the choice to stroll away at a number of factors, her lawyer informed the courtroom, however she didn’t. “She could not deliver herself to depart the Bankman-Fried job… on reflection, she sees it was loopy to remain.”

Ellison blinked quickly in the course of the listening to, regularly wringing her arms and wrapping her arms round herself as she listened to her lawyer, and crying as she spoke to the choose.

“At every stage of the method it turned increasingly more tough to extricate myself,” the 29-year-old mentioned, her voice shaking. “I am sorry I wasn’t courageous.”

Even Choose Lewis Kaplan referenced Bankman-Fried as he learn his sentence, saying the FTX founder had Ellison’s “kryptonite” and noting that the suggestions within the pointers had been an identical for the 2.

Ellison cooperated, whereas Bankman-Fried “denied the entire thing,” he mentioned.

“Though you had been largely responsible of this fraud, there is no such thing as a doubt that that outstanding collaboration… is a basic distinction between you and Mr. Bankman-Fried,” Kaplan mentioned.

The choose appeared sympathetic to Ellison and praised her in depth cooperation with prosecutors.

“You’re a very robust individual in some methods, Miss Ellison. You had been weak and exploited,” Kaplan mentioned. “You’re sincerely remorseful…your testimony was trustworthy. Mr Bankman-Fried, as I mentioned at his sentencing, dedicated perjury. There is no approach you may ever do one thing like this once more, I am satisfied of that.’

But it surely seems her regret wasn’t sufficient to spare Ellison a jail sentence.

“In a case this critical, actually getting a get-out-of-jail-free card shouldn’t be one thing I can get by,” Kaplan mentioned.

Ellison was sentenced to 24 months in jail and must serve a minimal of 1.5 years earlier than being eligible for parole.