Caroline Ellison was the star witness in the criminal case against disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. On Tuesday, she will face her own sentencing.
Former federal prosecutors, trial attorneys and legal experts who spoke with CNBC agree that Ellison is likely to walk away without any jail time at all.
Bankman-Fried and Ellison are both, in the eyes of the U.S. judicial system, guilty of the same crimes. Ellison was the most important of the several insiders who testified for the government, said former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Brien, who specializes in white-collar criminal defense in New York.
While District Judge Lewis Kaplan is under no obligation to accept the Probation Department's recommendation, O'Brien said that, along with some sort of fine, that would be "a fair sentence" because it reflects the "enormous value" of Ellison's cooperation. Though Ellison was deeply involved in the fraudulent activities, "she did not have the same control or directorial authority as SBF, which will likely influence the judge's decision about imposing a light sentence," Perry said.
of incarceration, but Kaplan said Ellison's testimony ultimately proved pivotal to his decision to sentence Bankman-Fried to nearly four times that.for witness tampering after he leaked private diary entries written by Ellison. Kaplan described the leak by Bankman-Fried as one designed toMost judges don't like sending people to jail who aren't a threat to harm others in the future, said former federal prosecutor Paul Tuchmann.
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