Wikipedia

Caroline Ellison

Caroline Ellison (born c. 1994) is an American former business executive and quantitative trader who was the CEO of Alameda Research, a trading firm affiliated with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and founded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.[5] Ellison was terminated from her position after FTX and Alameda filed for bankruptcy.[6] In 2022, Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.[7][8]

Caroline Ellison
Born1994 (age 29–30)[1]
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.[2]
Alma materStanford University (BS)
Known forFormer CEO of Alameda Research
Criminal statusPleaded guilty
Parent(s)Glenn Ellison[3]
Sara Fisher Ellison[4]
Criminal chargeWire fraud
Money laundering
Conspiracy
PenaltyTwo years in prison

On September 24, 2024, Ellison, a key government witness in the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the scandal, which was one of the biggest in the history of the United States.[9][10] U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan called Ellison’s cooperation in the case against SBF "very, very substantial", but said prison time was necessary due to the magnitude of the crime.[11] According to an anonymous source cited by The Wall Street Journal in November 2022, Alameda Research owed $10 billion to FTX. The source said FTX had lent the trading firm money from customer funds at FTX.[12][13][5]

Early life and education

edit

Ellison was born in Boston and grew up in nearby suburbs Cambridge and Newton.[1][2] She is the eldest of three daughters of Glenn and Sara Fisher Ellison, both economists at MIT.[1][4][14] Ellison was brought up Catholic.[15] She says she and her siblings were exposed to economics early, learning Bayesian statistics in primary school.[16] At age 8, Ellison gave her father an economic study of stuffed animal prices from Toys "R" Us for his birthday.[16] At Bigelow Middle School,[17][18] Ellison and her younger sister Anna competed with the math team coached by their father.[19] In 2008, Ellison received top honors in the American Mathematics Competitions.[1][4][16]

As a Newton North High School student, she represented the US in the 2011 International Linguistics Olympiad and received an honorable mention and an award for "best solution".[16][20][21] Ellison competed in the Greater Boston Math League through her high school and served as the team's captain.[1][16] She represented Newton several times in the Math Prize for Girls. During her senior year, Ellison was accepted into the MIT PRIMES after-school program.[22] She graduated in 2012 with a National Merit Scholarship.[23]

Ellison graduated from Stanford University in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.[2][24][25] While at Stanford, she scored in the top 500 students in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Putnam Competitions.[26][27][28] As a freshman, Ellison developed an interest in effective altruism, a data-based philanthropic movement. She joined Stanford's effective altruism club and served as its vice president.[16][29]

Career

edit

While attending Stanford, Ellison began her career in quantitative trading with two internships at Jane Street, a proprietary trading firm in New York City.[30][31] In September 2016, Ellison joined Jane Street full-time as an equities trader in a cohort mentored by Sam Bankman-Fried, who left the firm a year later to serve as director of development at the Centre for Effective Altruism in Berkeley, California.[29][1][31][32]

Ellison and Bankman-Fried bonded over interest in effective altruism and remained in contact. In February 2018, while visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, Ellison met Bankman-Fried for coffee and he pitched her on joining Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund co-founded in November 2017 by Bankman-Fried and effective altruism colleague Tara Mac Aulay. Ellison joined the following month.[16][29][33] She said her "blind leap" was based on excitement over arbitraging cryptocurrencies and the potential to further her pursuit of earning to give. When she joined, Ellison had more experience than most of the other traders.[16][34][32] She became co-CEO along with Sam Trabucco in October 2021.[35] She became the sole CEO of Alameda Research in August 2022 after Trabucco stepped down.[35] Despite her position Ellison received no equity in Alameda Research and only a 0.5% stake in FTX.[36]

In November 2022, Ellison, together with Sam Trabucco, was listed on Forbes 30 Under 30,[37] a pick the publication regretted a year later, placing Ellison on its Hall of Shame, featuring ten picks it wished it could take back.[38][39] On 6 November 2022, after CoinDesk raised concerns about the balance sheet of Alameda Research and its relationship with FTX, Ellison said that the balance sheet information which had been released only included some of Alameda's assets, and that the firm had more than $10 billion of additional assets.[40][41] According to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Ellison was in a video meeting with employees on 9 November 2022; she admitted there that FTX had used customer money to help Alameda meet its liabilities and that she, Bankman-Fried, and two other FTX executives, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, were aware of the circumstances.[42][43] Ellison was terminated from her position by John J. Ray III after FTX, Alameda Research, and more than 100 related companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[6]

edit

In December 2022, Ellison hired Stephanie Avakian[44] of law firm WilmerHale as her lead attorney.[45] On December 18,[46][47] Ellison pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders of Alameda Research, wire fraud on lenders of Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.[8][48][49] On that day, FTX co-founder Gary Wang also pleaded guilty to several charges. A transcript of her plea hearing was unsealed on December 23, revealing she had admitted to judge Ronnie Abrams that she and others conspired to steal billions of dollars from customers of FTX, while misleading its investors and lenders.[50] Ellison told Judge Abrams that Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives had received billions of dollars in secret loans from Alameda Research.[51] As a part of her plea deal, she agreed to make restitution of an amount to be decided by the courts.[52] In October 2023, Ellison testified for the prosecution in the fraud trial of Bankman-Fried.[53] On 24 September 2024 Ellison was sentenced to serve two years in prison.[54][55][56]

Personal life

edit

Accounts about a romantic relationship with colleague Sam Bankman-Fried were reported by unspecified former employees.[57][29][58] Business Insider said that Ellison's alleged relationship with Bankman-Fried was singled out by CoinDesk.[59][60] Bankman-Fried told Good Morning America his relationship with Ellison was brief.[61][58]

Ellison, along with FTX senior employees, contributed to the FTX Foundation's Future Fund, which planned to fund philanthropic endeavors, before ceasing operations when its own senior staff resigned. The staff cited inability to honor grants and concerns about the legitimacy of its funding, leaving some beneficiaries concerned as to whether they would have to return grant money.[62]

Recognition

edit
  • 2023: Named in Forbes "Hall Of Shame" – North America – Finance[64][65]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f Gardizy, Anissa (6 December 2022). "Caroline Ellison, math whiz and Newton native, was bound for success. Then she got into crypto. - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Palmer, Sarah (22 December 2022). "What do we know about Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, the senior associates behind FTX's downfall?". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Former head of FTX is not SEC chair's daughter". AP NEWS. 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Dean, Grace (26 December 2022). "Caroline Ellison said she grew up 'exposed to a lot of economics.' Here's everything we know about her MIT economist parents". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b Vicky Ge Huang; Alexander Osipovich; Patricia Kowsmann (11 November 2022). "FTX Tapped Into Customer Accounts to Fund Risky Bets, Setting Up Its Downfall". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q115175398. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Justin Baer; Hannah Miao (18 November 2022). "Bankrupt FTX Fires Three of Sam Bankman-Fried's Top Deputies". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q115288110. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  7. ^ Goldstein, Matthew; Weiser, Benjamin (23 December 2022). "Alameda Executive Says She Is 'Truly Sorry' for Her Role in FTX Collapse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b Katersky, Aaron. "Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend, FTX co-founder plead guilty to criminal charges". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Caroline Ellison, government witness in FTX crypto scandal, gets 2 years in prison - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  10. ^ Neumeister, Larry (24 September 2024). "Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison gets two years in prison over fraud". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ Mattson, Jennifer (24 September 2024). "Caroline Ellison, star witness in FTX crypto fraud trial that put SBF away for 25 years, is sentenced to 2 years in prison". Fast Company. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  12. ^ Wang, Tracy (11 November 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire 'was run by a gang of kids in the Bahamas'". Fortune. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  13. ^ Clark, Mitchell (10 November 2022). "FTX reportedly used $10 billion of customer funds to prop up its owner's trading firm". The Verge. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Hard Math = Powerful Fun". MIT. 2013. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Caroline Ellison: How a young math whiz with an appetite for risk became a major player in Sam Bankman-Fried's corrupt crypto empire". Fortune. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Jeans, David. "Meet Caroline Ellison, the 'Fake Charity Nerd Girl' Behind The FTX Collapse". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Newton's Middle School all-female math squad scores at state championship". Newton Tab. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  18. ^ Ellison, Glenn; Swanson, Ashley (June 2010). "The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 24 (2): 109–128. doi:10.1257/jep.24.2.109. ISSN 0895-3309. S2CID 51730381. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  19. ^ Dean, Grace. "Caroline Ellison said she grew up 'exposed to a lot of economics.' Here's everything we know about her MIT economist parents". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  20. ^ "International Linguistics Olympiad participants, 2011". Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Whiz Kid: Newton North Student Takes on World Competition". Newton, MA Patch. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  22. ^ "PRIMES: Caroline Ellison MIT Mathematics". math.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Graduation Special by The Newtonite - Issuu". issuu.com. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  24. ^ Butcher, Sarah (10 November 2022). "CEO of Alameda Research is a 28-year-old Harry Potter fan". eFinancialCareers. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  25. ^ Hannah Miao; Justin Baer (20 November 2022). "How Caroline Ellison Found Herself at the Center of the FTX Crypto Collapse". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q115301476. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  26. ^ "2013 Putnam Competition Results". mathematics.stanford.edu. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  27. ^ "2014 Putnam Competition Results". mathematics.stanford.edu. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  28. ^ "2015 Putnam Competition Results". mathematics.stanford.edu. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  29. ^ a b c d Yaffe-Bellany, David; Kelley, Lora; Metz, Cade (23 November 2022). "She Was a Little-Known Crypto Trader. Then FTX Collapsed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  30. ^ De Vynck, Gerrit (2 January 2023). "Caroline Ellison wanted to make a difference. Now she's facing prison". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  31. ^ a b Beltran, Luisa (13 November 2022). "A closer look at Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research and twentysomething CEO Caroline Ellison". Fortune. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  32. ^ a b Revell, Eric (20 November 2022). "Who is Caroline Ellison and how did she end up at center of FTX collapse?". Fox Business. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  33. ^ Zuckerman, Gregory (30 November 2022). "Early Alameda Staffers Quit After Battling Sam Bankman-Fried Over Risk, Compliance Concerns". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  34. ^ Hart, Jordan (20 November 2022). "The unbelievably fast world of Caroline Ellison where 'someone suggests something' then 'an hour later and it's already happened'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  35. ^ a b Miller, Hannah (24 August 2022). "Alameda Co-CEO Trabucco Steps Down From Crypto Trading Firm". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  36. ^ Weiss, Ben (10 October 2023). "FTX was a boys' club. When Caroline Ellison asked Sam Bankman-Fried for equity in the hedge fund she ran, he said 'it was too complicated'". Fortune. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2022: Finance". Forbes. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  38. ^ "Hall Of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List". Forbes. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  39. ^ Porter, Jon (29 November 2023). "Forbes publishes 30 Under 30 "Hall of Shame."". The Verge. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  40. ^ Lang, Hannah (8 November 2022). "How Binance's plan to buy FTX unfolded in a matter of days". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  41. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (10 November 2022). "Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried blames himself for FTX's collapse, admits he 'f---ed up'". CNBC. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  42. ^ Dave Michaels; Elaine Yu; Caitlin Ostroff (12 November 2022). "Alameda, FTX Executives Are Said to Have Known FTX Was Using Customer Funds". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q115184709. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  43. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David (14 November 2022). "How Sam Bankman-Fried's Crypto Empire Collapsed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  44. ^ Hawkins, Asher (28 June 2010). "SEC's Revolving Door Often Spins More Than Once". Forbes. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  45. ^ "Caroline Ellison Hires SEC's Former Top Crypto Cop for FTX probe". Bloomberg. 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  46. ^ "United States v. Caroline Ellison, $2 22 Cr. 673 (RA)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  47. ^ "Caroline Ellison Plea Agreement: $250,000 Bail, Surrender of Travel Documents, Forfeiture of Assets". Yahoo News. 22 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  48. ^ Michaels, Corinne Ramey and Dave. "Caroline Ellison, Associate of FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges". WSJ. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  49. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew; Weiser, Benjamin (22 December 2022). "Two Executives in Sam Bankman-Fried's Crypto Empire Plead Guilty to Fraud". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  50. ^ "Caroline Ellison Apologizes for Misconduct in FTX Collapse". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.(subscription required)
  51. ^ Cohen, Luc; Hals, Tom; Cohen, Luc; Hals, Tom (23 December 2022). "Alameda's ex-CEO tells judge she hid billions in loans to FTX execs". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  52. ^ Teh, Cheryl (21 December 2022). "Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda, pleads guilty to charges that carry up to 110 years in prison following FTX collapse". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  53. ^ Godoy, Jody; Cohen, Luc (12 October 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried trial: Key moments from Caroline Ellison's testimony". Reuters. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  54. ^ Zauzmer Weil, Julie; Ziegler, Hannah; Jacobs, Shayna (24 September 2024). "Caroline Ellison, key witness in Bankman-Fried trial, sentenced to prison". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  55. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie; Mangan, Dan; Giel, Dawn (24 September 2024). "FTX fraudster Caroline Ellison sentenced to 2 years in prison, ordered to forfeit $11 billion". CNBC. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  56. ^ "Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years for role in FTX crypto fraud". BBC News. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  57. ^ Read, Bridget (19 November 2022). "Was Caroline Ellison a Main Character or the Fall Girl?". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  58. ^ a b Guarino, Mark. "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried on crypto giant's collapse: 'A lot of people got hurt. And that's on me'". No. December 1, 2022. ABC News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023. In the interview, Bankman-Fried also denied he witnessed any illegal drug use by FTX employees, and he said reports that he and Ellison were in a polyamorous relationship are false and his romantic relationship with Ellison lasted only six months.
  59. ^ Alexander Osipovich; Caitlin Ostroff; Patricia Kowsmann; Angel Au-Yeung; Matt Grossman (19 November 2022). "They Lived Together, Worked Together and Lost Billions Together: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Doomed FTX Empire". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q115293164. Retrieved 19 November 2022. He was at times romantically involved with Caroline Ellison, the 28-year-old CEO of his trading firm, Alameda Research, according to former employees.
  60. ^ Varanasi, Lakshmi (11 November 2022). "FTX's crypto empire was reportedly run by a bunch of roommates in the Bahamas who dated each other, according to the news site that helped trigger the company's sudden collapse". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022. Among the named members of Bankman-Fried's inner circle were Caroline Ellison, Alameda's current CEO. Ellison was the only employee CoinDesk singled out for having reportedly dated Bankman-Fried at one point, but no other specific past or present relationships were disclosed.
  61. ^ Mok, Aaron (1 December 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried didn't mention Alameda ex-CEO Caroline Ellison in his first video interview since FTX collapse". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  62. ^ Albrecht, Leslie (11 November 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried's philanthropic fund halts donations amid FTX collapse and 'questions about legitimacy'". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  63. ^ "Finance". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  64. ^ "Hall Of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List". Forbes. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  65. ^ Porter, Jon (29 November 2023). "Forbes publishes 30 Under 30 "Hall of Shame."". The Verge. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caroline_Ellison&oldid=1252699111"