Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Caroline Ellison, the former head of Alameda Research and a key cooperating witness in the FTX case, has been released from federal custody.
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She was released after serving about 14 months of a two-year sentence.
Caroline Ellision Released After 14 Months
Caroline Ellison, the former head of Alameda Research and a central cooperating witness in the FTX prosecution, has been released from federal prison after serving about 14 months of a two-year sentence tied to FTX’s collapse in 2022.
Ellison pleaded guilty in 2022 to multiple fraud and conspiracy charges related to the misuse of FTX customer funds. She was sentenced in 2024 after testifying extensively against Sam Bankman-Fried, the exchange’s founder.
FTX collapsed in 2022 after reports emerged that its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, was propped up by FTX’s own token and secretly relied on customer funds. The revelation triggered a loss of confidence that resulted in a liquidity run.
Ellison was released after she was enrolled into the Bureau of Prisons’ Residential Reentry Management program, a halfway house placement that allows inmates to serve the final portion of their sentences under supervision. During that period, the inmates will receive career counseling, job placement support, financial management assistance, and other services aimed at easing their transition back into the workforce and community before full release.
During the trial, Ellison agreed to forfeit $11 billion in assets tied to the FTX and Alameda fraud and accept a 10-year ban on serving as an officer or director of a company.
While Ellison is out after 14 months, Bankman-Fried continues to serve his 25-year sentence at a low-security federal prison in the Los Angeles area.
