Topline
Caroline Ellison, a longtime confidante of befallen crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, claims she and the former billionaire FTX founder agreed to deceive the exchange’s investors, lenders and customers, according to court documents released Friday—a damning accusation as Bankman-Fried faces a slew of criminal charges tied to allegations he stole billions of dollars from FTX customers.
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, departs from court in New … [+]
Key Facts
Ellison—the CEO of Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research—told a judge earlier this week she and Bankman-Fried conspired to steal billions of dollars from FTX customers, as she appeared in federal court to plead guilty to seven criminal counts, according to a court transcript reported by Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
“I knew that it was wrong,” Ellison, 28, said in a New York federal court, stating she was aware Alameda was provided access to a credit facility on FTX, thereby allowing Bankman-Fried’s trading firm to access “an unlimited line of credit without being required to post collateral, without having negative balances and without being subject to margin calls.”
Ellison, who’s been romantically linked to Bankman-Fried, also acknowledged she “understood” that most FTX customers “did not expect that FTX would lend out their digital asset holdings and fiat currency deposits to Alameda in this fashion.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Further Reading
FTX And Alameda Executives Plead Guilty To Fraud As Sam Bankman-Fried Is Extradited To U.S. (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/12/23/caroline-ellison-admits-she-and-bankman-fried-conspired-to-steal-from-ftx-customers-and-mislead-investors-reports-say/