FTX co-conspirator Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in prison

Caroline Ellison, who served as the star witness in the trial of her ex-boyfriend and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years behind bars.

The sentence is notably larger than the prosecution's recommendation of three years of probation, and the defense's request for no prison time. But Ellison pleaded guilty to conspiracy and financial fraud charges in December of 2022, per CNBC.

Ellison, who ran the hedge fund Alameda Research, was also ordered to return $11 billion for her part in the multi-billion dollar fraud and conspiracy scheme.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan acknowledged how remorseful Ellison appeared to be for her crimes when sentencing her, but said he needed to deter other possible criminals from committing fraud.

"A literal get-out-of-jail-free card I can’t agree to,” Kaplan said. “I’ve seen a lot of cooperators over the years and I’ve never seen one quite like Miss Ellison."

The sentence comes after the company's stock plummeted in 2022 when investors simultaneously lost faith in the firm and attempted to withdraw their stakes, which left the company unable to fully remunerate them. The sudden and unexpected collapse prompted concerns of foul play and resulted in seven federal fraud charges being pressed against Bankman-Fried. 

The billionaire pleaded not guilty to all charges in January of 2023, but was convicted of all of them last November. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March, but has since appealed the verdict and requested a new trial over allegations that Kaplan was biased against him. 

Ellison has not indicated whether she intends to appeal her sentence, but it is drastically less than the possible maximum sentence of up to 110 years in prison. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.