Crypto News – According to the key witness in Sam Bankman-Fried‘s US trial, who testified on Tuesday, Sam Bankman-Fried was the brains behind a plot to cheat FTX clients out of billions of dollars.
Caroline Ellison, Key Witness in Crypto King Bankman-Fried Trial, Makes Stunning Statements
After users learned in a panic that part of FTX’s funds had been invested in risky ventures by Bankman-Fried’s own hedge fund, Alameda Research, the platform collapsed in November 2022, unable to handle the large withdrawal requests. Before the cryptocurrency trading website went bankrupt late last year, Bankman-Fried and his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, claimed to have stolen about $14 billion from its customers.
Indicted on seven counts of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy, 31-year-old Bankman-Fried, co-founder and former CEO of FTX, may receive a de facto life sentence of more than 100 years in prison if proven guilty.
Ellison Confirms Bankman-Fried’s Guilt
Ellison, a mathematics graduate from Stanford University, was chosen by Bankman-Fried to lead Alameda in 2021. FTX consumers were unaware that the majority of Alameda’s operations were funded by their money. Along with two other Bankman-Fried’s close acquaintances, she has admitted guilty to allegations of fraud and promised to assist the prosecution. Another Bankman-Fried associate, Zixiao Gary Wang, claimed on Friday that the co-founder of FTX was willing to lie and abuse the law in order for the business and Alameda to see rapid success.
Her recognition of her ex-boyfriend in the courtroom took a good ten seconds.
The owner of Alameda and he directed me to commit those crimes.
Ellison
According to her, Bankman-Fried put up the structure that allowed Alameda to take customer funds from FTX and use them for investments and debt repayment.
For major decisions, I ran it by Sam. He was the person I officially reported to. He was the owner of Alameda. He could have fired me if he wanted to,
Ellison
Ellison Says It’s Weird That Bankman-Fried Is Also Her Boyfriend
The former analyst who created mathematical models for market finance, Ellison, claimed she voiced her concerns regarding the affiliation between FTX and Alameda.
I was somewhat concerned because it was something that customers weren’t aware of and they wouldn’t be happy if they’d learned about it,
Ellison
Bankman-Fried’s attorneys are anticipated to contest this portrayal by claiming that their client had limited knowledge of Alameda’s internal operations and attributing responsibility for the alleged fraud to Ellison. On the other hand, she claimed in court on Tuesday that she dated Bankman-Fried for a few years. Before Bankman-Fried was detained and extradited to the US late last year, the on-again, off-again couple and other FTX executives resided in an opulent apartment building in the Bahamas.
He was also my boss, which created a lot of awkward situations,
Ellison
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