Key Witness in the FTX Trial Moves to Home Confinement After Serving 11 Months
Caroline Ellison, a former executive linked to the FTX scandal, transitions from prison to home confinement after nearly one year behind bars.
Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda Research who played a pivotal role in the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency enterprise, has recently been transferred from a federal prison to a community confinement setting after completing approximately 11 months of her two-year sentence.
On October 16, she was moved from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, and will now serve her remaining time either at home or in a halfway house, while still under federal supervision. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed this transfer but withheld specific details for privacy and security reasons.
Prison documentation indicates that Ellison’s release date has been advanced to February 20, 2026, which is nearly nine months sooner than originally anticipated, though no explanation has been provided for this change.
From Star Witness to Home Confinement
Reports state that Ellison’s cooperation was crucial for the prosecution in securing Bankman-Fried’s conviction, with her testimony revealing significant misconduct, including claims that he directed her to mislead investors and manage risky assets using funds from FTX’s clients.
In Court, she shared alarming disclosures about Alameda’s massive debts, which reached around $10 billion mid-2022. Ellison detailed extreme efforts to retrieve frozen assets, such as negotiations involving third-party wallets and alleged bribery, exposing the depths of financial malpractice carried out under Bankman-Fried’s leadership.
Despite her significant assistance to the investigation majorly influencing the jury’s verdict, Judge Lewis Kaplan remarked on the unacceptable nature of the offenses and enforced a prison sentence during her sentencing.
SBF’s Prison Rants
On another note, Sam Bankman-Fried is serving a lengthy 25-year sentence in a low-security facility in California after being convicted of multiple fraud charges. Unlike Ellison, he remains vocal about the proceedings, claiming his arrest was politically motivated and blaming external parties for FTX’s downfall.
