Current:Home > ScamsCaroline Ellison says FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried corrupted her values so she could lie and steal-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Caroline Ellison says FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried corrupted her values so she could lie and steal
View Date:2024-12-23 18:36:56
NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried ’s former top executive blamed the FTX founder on Wednesday of corrupting her values so she could lie and steal and create false balance sheets, things she told jurors at his New York City trial that she never imagined doing before joining his cryptocurrency empire.
Caroline Ellison, who eventually was made chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research, blamed the man she was entwined with romantically for several years since 2018 for creating justifications so that she could do things that she now admits were wrong and illegal.
Testifying in federal court in Manhattan, she recalled that Bankman-Fried said he wanted to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people and that rules like “don’t lie” or “don’t steal” must sometimes be set aside.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon asked Ellison how she was affected by Bankman-Fried’s philosophy.
“I think it made me more willing to do things like lie and steal over time,” she said.
After several hours on the witness stand, Ellison got choked up as she described the final days of FTX and Alameda, saying that early November period before the businesses filed for bankruptcy “was overall the worst week of my life.”
She said she had a “feeling of relief” when the public learned of what went on because it was “something I had been dreading for the last several months.”
Earlier in her testimony, Ellison revealed that she doctored balance sheets to try to hide that Alameda was borrowing about $10 billion from FTX customers in June 2022, when the cryptocurrency market was falling dramatically and some lenders were demanding that Alameda return their investments in full.
She said she once created seven different balance sheets after Bankman-Fried directed her to find ways to conceal things that might look bad to Alameda’s lenders.
“I didn’t really want to be dishonest, but I also didn’t want them to know the truth,” Ellison said.
She said a few years earlier, she would never have believed that she’d one day be sending false balance sheets to lenders or taking customer money, “but I think it became something I became more comfortable with as I was working there.”
Ellison said she was in a “constant state of dread” at that point, fearful that a rush of customer withdrawals from FTX couldn’t be met or that what they had done would become public.
“In June 2022, we were in the bad situation and I was concerned that if anybody found out, it would all come crashing down,” she said.
The crash came last November, when FTX couldn’t fulfill a rush of customer withdrawals, forcing it into bankruptcy and prompting investigations by prosecutors and regulators.
“I was terrified,” she said. “This was what I had been worried about the past several months and it was finally happening.”
Ellison, 28, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December, when Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States from the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. His lawyers say he was not criminally to blame for what happened to his businesses.
Initially confined to his parents’ Palo Alto, California, home under terms of a $250 million bond, Bankman-Fried has been jailed since August after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan concluded that he had tried to improperly influence potential witnesses, including Ellison.
___
For more AP coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX: https://apnews.com/hub/sam-bankman-fried
veryGood! (327)
Related
- Does the NFL have a special teams bias when hiring head coaches? History indicates it does
- Shooter gets 23 years to life for ambushing New York City police twice in 12 hours, wounding 2
- Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts
- CEO of Web Summit tech conference resigns over Israel comments
- Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
- A funeral is set for a slain Detroit synagogue president as police continue to investigate a motive
- De Colombia p'al mundo: How Feid became Medellín's reggaeton 'ambassador'
- The FDA is proposing a ban on hair relaxers with formaldehyde due to cancer concerns
- Fire crews on both US coasts battle wildfires, 1 dead; Veterans Day ceremony postponed
- Hate takes center stage: 25 years after a brutal murder, the nation rallies behind a play
Ranking
- Michael Jordan and driver Tyler Reddick come up short in bid for NASCAR championship
- Undefeated No. 3 Buckeyes and No. 7 Nittany Lions clash in toughest test yet for Big Ten East rivals
- Last Chance: Save Up to 90% Off on Kate Spade Outlet Crossbodies, Shoulder Bags, Jewelry & More
- Reese Witherspoon Tears Up Saying She Felt Like She Broke a Year Ago
- Wind-whipped wildfire near Reno prompts evacuations but rain begins falling as crews arrive
- Iran sentences 2 journalists for collaborating with US. Both covered Mahsa Amini’s death
- Synagogue president found stabbed to death outside home
- Sevilla expels fan from stadium for racist behavior during game against Real Madrid
Recommendation
-
My Chemical Romance will perform 'The Black Parade' in full during 2025 tour: See dates
-
1 dead and 3 injured after multiple people pulled guns during fight in Texas Panhandle city
-
Upgrade Your Home With Early Way Day Deals: Get a $720 Rug for $112, $733 Bed Frame for $220 & More
-
Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts
-
Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed: Reports
-
Gallaudet invented the huddle. Now, the Bison are revolutionizing helmet tech with AT&T
-
Sevilla expels fan from stadium for racist behavior during game against Real Madrid
-
Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts