Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, leaving Manhattan Federal Court during the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried on October 10, 2023.
hen Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyer Mark Cohen delivered his opening arguments at the FTX founder’s fraud trial on Oct. 3, he attempted to redirect the blame for the disappearance of over $8 billion in customer funds away from his client and toward Caroline Ellison. When she took the stand a week later, Ellison, who was the CEO of Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, and his on-and-off girlfriend, laid the blame squarely on him.
Ellison has pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy, and is widely considered to be the star witness for the prosecution. “He directed me to commit these crimes,” she said while on the stand, facing Bankman-Fried. Her testimony, combined with evidence presented by the prosecution, contradictsBankman-Fried’s defense argument: that he borrowed his customer funds in good faith and was undone by forces outside of his control, like Ellison’s alleged incompetence.
The crux of Ellison’s testimony on Tuesday came when the prosecutors presented to the jurors a spreadsheet of Alameda’s finances from the fall of 2021. Ellison says she had created the spreadsheet at the behest of Bankman-Fried, who was trying to decide whether to put $3 billion more into venture capital investments.
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