Caroline Ratted on SBF? Since FTX’s demise, no one has heard from the mysterious ex-Alameda executive
Many cryptocurrency supporters and the media have been wondering where Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, is right now. After FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) went on a media tour that included appearances at the New York Times’ Dealbook event and on Good Morning America.
Then, more than a month after FTX went bankrupt, SBF was arrested in The Bahamas and indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, charged with fraud by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and sued by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Meanwhile, Ellison hasn’t said anything. The public was made aware on Wednesday that FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame allegedly turned off SBF on November 9, two days before the FTX bankruptcy filing. Salame allegedly told Bahamian authorities that SBF transferred customer funds to the firm Alameda Research. The only thing the public knows about Ellison is that she is allegedly being represented by former SEC Enforcement Division Chief Stephanie Avakian and the Wilmerhale legal team. Since SBF’s arrest, there have been reports that Ellison has also snitched on him.
For example, on December 14, New York Post authors Ben Feuerherd and Bruce Golding published an article titled “Caroline Ellison likely working with feds against Sam Bankman-Fried.” According to the New York Post, the “hellhole Bahamas prison” may force SBF to drop his extradition fight. According to the report, SBF’s jail is filthy and “maggot-infested,” and his family has been attempting to get him vegan foods. Concerning Ellison, the Post spoke with former SEC attorney Howard Fischer, who stated that Ellison had a strong incentive to cooperate with law enforcement.
“She would have among the greatest incentives to cooperate, as it appeared likely that Bankman-Fried would try to finger her in his effort to exonerate himself,” Fischer told the Post. “The speed with which the indictment was issued and the breadth of the charges” indicated that “someone relatively senior is cooperating with federal authorities in exchange for leniency for their own potential misconduct,” Fischer added. The former SEC lawyer went on to say:
It is possible Bankman-Fried’s publicity tour, in which he repeatedly disclaimed either knowledge of — or responsibility for — mishandling or theft of customer assets, spurred senior officers to fear that he would specifically blame them.
