SEC Settles Enforcement Actions Against Key FTX Figures, Bans Ellison from Company Roles for a Decade
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled enforcement actions against Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research; Gary Wang, former CTO of FTX; and Nishad Singh, former co-lead engineer at FTX, all connected to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. These settlements are subject to court approval.
Ellison faces a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of any company. Wang and Singh each face 8-year bans from such roles. Additionally, all three are subject to conduct-based injunctions lasting five years.
The SEC alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried, along with Wang and Singh—with Ellison's knowledge and consent—exempted Alameda Research from key risk mitigation controls. They provided Alameda with an almost unlimited line of credit funded by FTX customer funds. Furthermore, Wang and Singh are accused of creating software code that enabled the diversion of customer funds to Alameda.
Ellison allegedly used these misappropriated FTX customer funds to conduct trading activities for Alameda. Previously, she was sentenced to two years in prison, while Wang and Singh avoided jail time.
These enforcement actions are part of the SEC's broader investigations related to FTX's 2022 collapse, with cases filed between 2022 and 2023 and currently awaiting final judgments. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried remains imprisoned, serving sentences for fraud convictions.
