Disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried thought there was a “5% chance he would become president,” his ex-girlfriend testified at his federal criminal trial Tuesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Caroline Ellison, one of the government’s star witnesses, said she and Bankman-Fried, 31, “began sleeping together from time to time” in 2018 and dated in the following years.
During their relationship, Ellison said that Bankman-Fried would describe his business and political ambitions.
Ellison also testified that he committed the crimes with Bankman-Fried. She has pleaded guilty and is testifying in accordance with a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors in New York, who have charged her with, among other things, covering up speculative investments by her privately controlled hedge fund Alameda Research in FTX. Accused of illegally using customer and investor money.
“He said FTX would be a good source of capital and he set up a system that allowed Alameda to borrow from FTX,” Ellison said.
In the summer of 2021, Alison became co-chief executive of Alameda Research after realizing she was not “particularly” equipped for the job, she testified Tuesday.
Former crypto hedge fund Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison finds and tells Sam Bankman-Fried during Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial over the collapse of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, in federal court in New York City on October 10, 2023. Courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
For big decisions, “I would ultimately defer to Sam,” since he owned the company and decided his compensation.
Ellison said that Bankman-Fried wanted to put some distance between himself and Alameda because some FTX clients had expressed concerns that FTX and Alameda’s relationship was too close.
At the time, the two were “on a break” from their dating relationship, which they said resumed a few months later. The romantic relationship ended in 2022.
“I felt like he wasn’t paying much attention to me or spending much time with me in the relationship,” Alison said.
As co-CEO, Ellison earned an annual salary of $200,000 and twice-a-year bonuses ranging from $100,000 to $20 million. He said he was never given an equity stake in Alameda despite asking for it.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court on June 15, 2023 in New York.
Bebeto Mathews/AP, File
Asked whether FTX customers were told how their money was being used, Ellison responded, “Not to my knowledge.”
He estimated that $10 billion to $20 billion in FTX money was transferred to Alameda.
“I was somewhat concerned because it seemed like a lot of these loans were going into liquid things,” Ellison testified, adding that Bankman-Fried directed all lending and investment strategies.
Ellison said Bankman-Fried also used clients’ money to make political donations because she believed she would get “a very high return in terms of influence” for a relatively small amount of money. She cited a $10 million donation to President Joe Biden, which Bankman-Fried believed would give her “influence and recognition.”
FTX marketed itself as a safe, reliable cryptocurrency exchange, but Ellison testified that it was not because transferring all that money to Alameda meant “those assets were at risk.”
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty on all counts. If found guilty, he could face up to 110 years in prison.
Former crypto hedge fund Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison arrives to testify at the trial of former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, in New York City federal court on October 10. Have been. , 2023 in this still image from the video.
Reuters TV via Reuters
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News in November 2022, Bankman-Fried denied knowing that “there was any improper use of client funds.”
Bankman-Fried said at the time, “I really wish deep down that I had taken a lot more responsibility for understanding the details of what was going on there.” “A lot of people were hurt, and I’m responsible for that.”
FTX marketed itself as a safe, reliable cryptocurrency exchange, but Ellison testified that it was not because transferring all that money to Alameda meant “those assets were at risk.”
ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.
Source: abcnews.go.com
