Caroline Ellison Transferred to Early Community Confinement Following FTX Fraud Sentence
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, has been transferred from Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut to community confinement. This move comes after she served about 11 months of a two-year sentence related to her involvement in the FTX fraud case.
Ellison began her sentence in early November 2024 at the low-security facility. Her projected release date is now February 20, 2026, which is approximately nine months earlier than the original sentence end date.
She pleaded guilty in December 2022 to multiple conspiracy offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, and commodities fraud, which collectively carried a potential maximum sentence of 110 years. Despite Judge Lewis Kaplan praising her cooperation during sentencing in September 2024, incarceration was still imposed.
During Sam Bankman-Fried's October 2023 trial, Ellison testified for three days. She described alleged instructions to use Alameda Research to siphon customer assets and depicted a power imbalance in their romantic relationship.
Ellison's early transfer to community confinement contrasts with outcomes for other FTX executives. Gary Wang and Nishad Singh received time-served sentences with supervised release after testifying in the case. Ryan Salame was sentenced to seven years for campaign finance violations and unlicensed money transmitting. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried remains jailed, awaiting a 25-year term and is seeking a new trial. His family has called for clemency.
