Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison says former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried directed her to commit fraud.
Ellison said Alameda, FTX’s trading arm, took about $14 billion from the exchange’s clients and used it for investments between 2020 and 2022, according to lengthy court transcripts from the Bankman-Fried trial. issued by Inner City Press on the social media platform X.
Ellison says Bankman-Fried “set up the systems and told us to take the money.” She also says Alameda deceived lenders by sending over balance sheets “that made Alameda look less risky than it was.”
Ellison notes that she and Bankman-Fried “began sleeping together on and off in the summer of 2020” and dated for a while before breaking up. She says the former CEO of FTX told her about his ambition to become president of the United States.
FTX filed for bankruptcy last November after its own assets collapsed and the company was forced to halt customer withdrawals. Ellison says the exchange couldn’t give its customers their money because Alameda had used their assets to pay back lenders.
Bankman-Fried is facing a slew of charges for allegedly defrauding customers, mishandling billions of dollars worth of their money and making illegal political donations. If convicted, he could face more than 100 years in prison.
Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud last December and is reportedly cooperating with Bankman-Fried’s prosecution.
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