Bankman-Fried was arrested. Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to fraud, also settled with SEC, CFTC
Gary Wang, the co-founder of crypto exchange FTX and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty to fraud, a U.S. federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against the two, saying Ellison manipulated the price of FTT, an exchange token issued by FTX, at exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s direction.
According to the DOJ’s charges, Bankman-Fried has to face 8 counts of wire fraud on customers and lenders, securities fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violating campaign finance laws.
Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, associates of Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to fraud charges and cooperate with prosecutors, said the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.
Additionally, the SEC and CFTC have also filed civil charges against the two, alleging that they defrauded investors. Ellison and Wang are also cooperating with those investigations, both agencies noting that Ellison and Wang arranged. If the settlement is approved by the judge, both will forgo the money they have earned from FTX and Alameda and are prohibited from “issuing, buying, offering for sale or selling any securities”, except for their own personal investments.
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Williams added that more evidence from FTX victims was needed, and they should come forward before FTX was charged. He also warned that “We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”
