
In bombshell grounds connected Tuesday, Caroline Ellison, erstwhile CEO of Alameda Research, accused Sam Bankman-Fried of directing her and others to perpetrate fraud nether his enactment astatine FTX and Alameda. Taking the basal successful a reddish dress, Ellison stated “Alameda took respective billions of dollars from FTX customers and utilized it for investments.”
Caroline Ellison Exposes Alleged FTX Fund Siphoning and Political Payoffs
According to reporting by Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press, who streamed the proceedings from the courtroom, Caroline Ellison elaborate however she and her colleagues improperly utilized billions successful lawsuit funds from FTX to wage backmost loans and marque speculative investments for Alameda Research.
Lee reported that Ellison claimed she engaged successful fraud astatine Sam Bankman-Fried‘s direction, alleging helium “set up the systems and told america to instrumentality the money.” The erstwhile Alameda CEO estimated that betwixt $10 to $20 cardinal successful FTX lawsuit funds were deposited into Alameda accounts and utilized for the crypto hedge fund’s purposes. Federal authoritative Danielle Sassoon asked Ellison straight however Alameda besides defrauded its lenders.
Ellison stated:
I sent equilibrium sheets that made Alameda look little risky than it was.
When asked by prosecutors if she was acrophobic astir Alameda tapping FTX lawsuit funds, Ellison admitted she thought customers were unaware and that Bankman-Fried told her “not to worry” and that auditors wouldn’t look into it. She besides described helping prop up the terms of FTX’s autochthonal token FTT by purchasing it erstwhile the terms fell beneath $1, allegedly astatine Bankman-Fried’s urging. She explained the ins and outs of Alameda’s enigma slope relationship dubbed “fiat@.”
Ellison’s grounds straight implicated Bankman-Fried successful the alleged fraud scheme. Her statements look to enactment national prosecutors’ charges that the laminitis of FTX misappropriated billions successful lawsuit funds to screen losses astatine Alameda Research. Ellison’s relationship besides highlighted the blurred lines betwixt the 2 companies nether Bankman-Fried’s leadership. Ellison besides mentioned each the political donations FTX executives gave U.S. bureaucrats. She stated:
Sam gave $10 cardinal to Biden, helium thought it bought him access.
Ellison touched connected her intermittent romanticist ties with the ex-FTX main implicit the years. The spotlight remains connected Ellison’s testimony, acceptable to resume tomorrow, portion prosecutors expect summoning much witnesses arsenic the week progresses. Her relationship stands arsenic the astir incriminating grounds against Bankman-Fried to date.
What bash you deliberation astir Ellison’s grounds against Bankman-Fried? Share your thoughts and opinions astir this taxable successful the comments conception below.