FTX associates Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang plead guilty to criminal charges FTX associates Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang plead guilty to criminal charges
Both were charged in advance of Sam Bankman-Fried's return to the U.S.
1 min read
Updated: Aug. 17, 2023 at 2:25 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Two individuals associated with FTX have pled guilty to criminal charges, according to a statement from the Southern District of New York on Dec. 21.
Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that his office had filed charges against Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, in connection to FTX’s fraudulent activities.
The two individuals have pled guilty and are cooperating in the ongoing case against FTX’s principal founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed fraud charges against Ellison and Wang. The regulator charged Ellison with manipulating the price of FTX’s FTT token and misusing FTX customer funds to support Alameda’s trading activity. The SEC also alleged that Wang programmed software that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds for its own purposes.
SEC chair Gary Gensler stated on Twitter:
Until crypto platforms comply with time-tested securities laws, risks to investors will persist. It remains a priority of the SEC to use all of our available tools to bring the industry into compliance.
A more extensive description of the charges can be seen in the SEC’s official press release. In addition, the regulator says it is investigating other possible violations of securities law and violations that other individuals may have committed.
The news comes as Sam Bankman-Fried returns to the U.S. to face fraud charges. Officials approved his extradition request in the Bahamas on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried was on board a flight to the U.S. at the time of William’s announcement.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Alameda Research
Alameda Research was once a principal trading firm, operating as an arm of the failed crypto exchange, FTX.
Caroline Ellison is the former lead trader and former CEO at Alameda Research.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.