(RepublicanNews.org) – Former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, and former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd, Zixiao (Gary) Wang, has pleaded guilty to a variety of charges which would have attracted potential sentences of 110 years and 50 years in prison, respectively. The pair are understood to have signed plea agreements in exchange for reduced sentences.
The guilty pleas were announced as the former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, arrived back in the U.S. following his extradition from the Bahamas. His extradition was ordered by a Bahamas judge earlier in the week after SBF decided not to fight the order. He was being held in Fox Hill, the Bahamas’ only jail, where conditions are understood to be highly unsanitary, and they were unable to accommodate his vegan diet. He had been denied bail in the Bahamas and may be hoping to be allowed bail now he is back in New York.
FTX was, at one time, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. Leaked internal documents revealed that a large portion of the assets in Alameda Research were linked to the FTX exchange token FTT. As the FTT token was basically created out of thin air by FTX, investors worried about the real-world value of FTT on the open market. This loss of confidence led to $ 6 billion in withdrawals within a 72-hour period and, ultimately, the collapse of the exchange.
FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, along with Alameda Research. Prosecutors have brought charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and commit campaign finance violations.
SBF is expected to appear in federal court in New York City on Thursday.
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