Caroline Ellison is arguably the star witness in the government’s case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX who's on trial for fraud. And what became apparent during her testimony on Tuesday is that, compared with three other key lieutenants who've all turned on their former boss, she took similar risks for far smaller rewards.
Ellison, who testified that she conspired with Bankman-Fried "to commit these crimes," is the former CEO of Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund Bankman-Fried also owned. She was given no equity in Alameda and only a half-a-percentage-point stake in FTX. When she broached a conversation with him over receiving equity in the hedge fund, he was “initially receptive” but later told her “it was too complicated.”
