Caroline Ellison Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for FTX Collapse

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for her role in FTX's collapse.

Judge Lewis Kaplan read his ruling after a remorseful Caroline Ellison addressed the court by saying, "Not a day goes by where I don't think about the people I've hurt."

Despite the fact that lead prosecutor Danielle Sassoon also advocated that justice would still be served if Ellison was spared prison time, Judge Kaplan ruled that he could not reward cooperating with the trial and the government's case with a "literal get out of jail free card."

“I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison,” Judge Kaplan said, noting that it was Ellison's testimony that was crucial in convicting FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Despite that, Kaplan sentenced Ellison to two years in prison and three years probation.

Judge Kaplan said the fact that Ellison showed true remorse and cooperated with prosecutors was not enough to counter what was one of the largest frauds in American history.

Kaplan's ruling was a surprise to those in the courtroom, given he spent 20 minutes talking about how central Caroline Ellison's cooperation was to the government's case. In fact, both he and the prosecutors said that without Caroline Ellison's cooperation there is a chance the jury may not have convicted Bankman-Fried.

Marc Litt, the former lead prosecutor who took down Bernie Madoff, told Coinage on Monday that it was unlikely that Caroline Ellison would be sentenced to prison time.

"I don't view it as a close call," Litt told Coinage at the time after reviewing the robust sentencing memo from prosecutors. "If she got a day in jail, I would fall off my seat."

A sniffling Ellison wrapped up her pre-sentence statement to the court by thanking those that had stood by her in the aftermath of the FTX collapse, including an unnamed new "partner."

"I couldn't have done this without you," she said.

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