Sam Bankman-Fried’s Ex-Girlfriend May Not Face Jail Time for Part in FTX Collapse

Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, may not face jail time for her role in the collapse of the digital currency exchange FTX.

Ellison, on Tuesday, will face her sentencing; she played a pivotal role in the criminal case against disgraced former FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ellison reportedly helped lie to investors, steal billions of dollars from FTX customers, and repurpose stolen funds toward funds at Alameda Research, the sister hedge fund to FTX, which she ran.

Ellison is facing several counts, including:

Two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Those charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of around 110 years, but there’s a sliding scale that takes into account the scope of the crimes and the criminal history of the defendant.

Former federal prosecutors, trial attorneys, and legal experts told CNBC that they believe Ellison will likely not receive a jail sentence.

In contrast to Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty of all seven criminal charges against him and sentenced to 25 years in jail, Ellison accepted a plea deal in December 2022 to all charges brought against her. She has since spent two years cooperating with the government, regulators, and FTX bankruptcy estate.

“Because of the closeness of her relationship to Sam, she was able to provide a personal portrait of Bankman-Fried, an elusive character to be sure, that was probably unique in the government’s case,” former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O’Brien, who specializes in white-collar criminal defense in New York, said.

Bankman-Fried continues to deny any criminal wrongdoing and is attempting to retry his case.

A judge, in August, ordered FTX to pay customers $12.7 billion in restitution.