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Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang accused of aiding FTX fraud - The Washington Pos...

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source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/21/caroline-ellison-fraud-charges/
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Two Bankman-Fried colleagues plead guilty to fraud

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang helped disgraced crypto mogul divert funds and are now aiding prosecutors

Updated December 21, 2022 at 10:07 p.m. EST|Published December 21, 2022 at 9:35 p.m. EST
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, center, is escorted from the Magistrate Court in Nassau, Bahamas, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, after agreeing to be extradited to the U.S. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Two former colleagues of disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that they helped him orchestrate a years-long scheme to defraud investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform that collapsed last month, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday.

The executives — Caroline Ellison, who served as chief executive of Alameda Research, a hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried, and Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer — are cooperating with prosecutors, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

The news, which came as Bankman-Fried was being transferred to New York to face his indictment Wednesday night, signaled an arsenal of evidence against the FTX founder is growing.

Ellison, who in addition to running Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm was also his ex-girlfriend, pleaded guilty to seven counts that mirror a significant portion of Bankman-Fried’s indictment. Her charges include conspiracies to commit wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud, and money laundering. She faces up to 110 years in prison.

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Wang, co-founder of FTX, pleaded guilty to four conspiracy and fraud related counts. He faces up 50 years in prison.

“They are both cooperating with the Southern District of New York,” Williams said in a prerecorded video announcement Wednesday evening.

Ilan Graff, a lawyer for Wang, said his client “has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness.” An attorney for Ellison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ellison and Wang, who were each released on a $250,000 bond, inked their plea agreements and formally entered guilty pleas in front of a federal judge in Manhattan at a sealed proceeding Monday. While no sentence can be promised, if they are considered helpful to the case and do not violate the agreements, prosecutors are expected to recommend a lighter sentence.

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In a parallel move, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday also charged Ellison and Wang with fraud, alleging they helped Bankman-Fried divert FTX customer funds to the hedge fund while misleading investors about it. The agency also alleges Ellison, acting at Bankman-Fried’s direction, manipulated the price of FTT, a digital token issued by FTX that the executives used to mislead investors about the health of their businesses.

“When FTT and the rest of the house of cards collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried, Ms. Ellison, and Mr. Wang left investors holding the bag,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Shayna Jacobs reported from New York.

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