– Why Caroline Threw Sam Under The Bus: Details Emerge About Alameda CEO’s Generous Plea Deal:
Update (1045ET): As part of the recently unsealed plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, CoinDesk reports that if Ellison fully cooperates with the SDNY’s investigation (in throwing her boyfriend under the bus), as well as any other law enforcement agency designated by the office, she won’t be further prosecuted criminally.
While the deal does not guarantee that other agencies will not pursue prosecution at a later date, it appears the former Alameda exec will be spared of all major charges, which could have seen her sentenced to up to 110 years in prison.
Ellison was accused of seven counts.
Two accused her of committing wire fraud on customers of FTX and engaging and conspiring to do so.
Another two alleged she committed wire fraud on the lenders of Alameda Research and conspired to do so.
Count five charged her with conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and count six alleged conspiracy to commit securities fraud on FTX’s equity investors.
The seventh count accused her of conspiring to commit money laundering.
The Attorney’s Office agreed not to prosecute Ellison on any of those seven counts in exchange for her cooperation — the complete disclosure of all the information and documents demanded by prosecutors.
Ellison will be permitted bail, provided she can provide a $250,000 personal recognizance bond and restrict travel to the continental United States.
She will also need to surrender any travel documents she has.
Finally, CoinDesk points out one interesting side-note in that the plea deal also contains language that says if Ellison is not a US citizen, it is very likely that her removal from the US will be mandatory. While it’s assumed that Ellison is a US national, it is possible she may have abandoned her nationality for a citizenship of convenience for tax reasons which is a popular trend among some crypto traders living abroad, as the US taxes non-residents.
It appears Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend found a way to screw him one last time.
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