When crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried went on trial in 2023, the prosecution’s star witness was on-and-off-again girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who was CEO of his buying and selling agency and whose testimony helped put him in jail for 25 years. Now, Ellison will face the court docket once more—this time to plead for leniency as a decide prepares to condemn her for her personal position within the collapse of FTX.
On Tuesday evening, Ellison’s attorneys filed a 67-page memorandum detailing her cooperation with prosecutors and FTX’s chapter property, and asking that she keep away from any jail time for her involvement in FTX’s collapse. In addition they filed practically 40 letters in assist from her family and friends, together with representatives of the FTX chapter property, together with CEO John Ray.
The memo delves into Ellison’s private life and historical past with Bankman-Fried, blaming lots of her selections on his manipulative method to their relationship. In a single occasion, her attorneys allege that Bankman-Fried satisfied her to get a prescription for the amphetamine Adderal, which Ellison grew to become depending on.
“Reflecting now, Caroline believes that this amphetamine use made her extra risk-seeking, extra targeted on the duty at hand however much less considerate and reflective,” the attorneys write. “It narrowed her focus to finishing no matter process Mr. Bankman-Fried had assigned her and left her much less inclined to step again and take into consideration whether or not the scenario made sense.”
From crush to break down
As soon as valued at over $30 billion, the speedy failure of FTX in November 2022 captured public consideration because of its larger-than-life characters and eye-popping greenback figures. A lot of the fascination targeted on the connection between the shut cadre of buddies of their late 20s and early 30s who ran the crypto empire, together with Bankman-Fried and Ellison, lots of whom dated one another. By the point of the trial, all had turned on Bankman-Fried, whose response included leaking Ellison’s personal diary to the New York Occasions.
Because the CEO of Alameda Analysis, Ellison performed a essential position in FTX and admitted to prosecutors that she was conscious—and facilitated—Bankman-Fried’s ploy to funnel billions of {dollars} of buyer funds to his personal investments, together with in startups, political donations, and luxurious actual property. Nonetheless, in her sentencing memo, her attorneys argue that a lot of her unhealthy judgments stemmed from her long-term relationship with Bankman-Fried, which started whereas they had been each working on the buying and selling agency Jane Road.
They intermittently dated, together with whereas working collectively at FTX—a proven fact that Bankman-Fried tried to hide from his workers. In a single occasion, in response to Ellison’s attorneys, he proposed having intercourse together with her whereas courting another person, which Ellison refused. Later, her attorneys be aware that Bankman-Fried denied her the identical celeb way of life that he loved, telling her that he didn’t wish to be seen publicly together with her, together with at high-profile occasions just like the Met Gala and Tremendous Bowl.
A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to remark.
Whereas the memo is stuffed with sordid particulars about their relationship, the attorneys additionally criticized the media’s fascination together with her private life, which they argue led to invasions of her privateness and led to folks “hounding” Ellison’s dad and mom and sisters, together with revealing their residences on the web. A few of the letters within the memo had been filed beneath seal to guard the identities of individuals writing in her assist.
Within the memo, Ellison’s attorneys be aware that the Probation Division recommends a sentence of time served with three years of supervised launch, and request a non-custodial sentence, that means one that doesn’t contain jail time. Her listening to is scheduled for September 24, with prosecutors anticipated to file their response this week.
