Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research embroiled in the meltdown of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, reportedly was spotted at a coffee shop in Manhattan over the weekend, leading some social media users to speculate whether she’ll soon be arrested—or if she’s cooperating with authorities.
PLEASE CONFIRM: A user claims that they spotted Caroline Ellison at Ground Support Coffee on West Broad in SoHo Manhattan at 8:15 AM. This would mean she is not in Hong Kong and is in NY not in custody. pic.twitter.com/QUduYO9GfZ
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) December 4, 2022
Photos that appear to be Ellison, posted by the popular anonymous Twitter account @AutismCapital, seem to show her ordering at Ground Support Cafe on West Broadway in SoHo. Next to Ellison in one of the photos is a dog that others on Twitter have claimed is the Goldendoodle “Gopher” who lived with Bankman-Fried and FTX employees at their Bahamas penthouse.
Can't quite fathom how the ex CEO of Alameda, Caroline Ellison, is walking around New York a free woman
— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) December 4, 2022
H/t @AutismCapital pic.twitter.com/8WviWezo3I
Fortune could not independently verify that the person in the photo was Ellison. A Twitter user named Daniel Mentado, who claimed to be a manager at Ground Support Cafe, confirmed the authenticity of the photograph but couldn't say for sure it was her. An employee at Ground Support Cafe told Fortune on Monday that the business had no comment on whether Ellison had visited, but confirmed that Mentado worked there. Another crypto influencer, Jes (@CryptoNCoffeee), also said she had called the coffee shop and confirmed Mentado was an employee.
i called the shop and spoke to danny and sent him the links. can confirm he is at the shop.
— Jess ☕️ (@CryptoNCoffeee) December 4, 2022
Attempts by Fortune to reach Ellison were unsuccessful.
Ground Support Cafe is about a 15-minute walk from both the FBI’s New York City office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, leading some to ask whether Ellison was meeting with federal authorities.
The general consensus is that Caroline Ellison is likely in NY cutting a deal and cooperating with SDNY prosecutors to roll on Sam.
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) December 4, 2022
Ellison was thought to be living in Hong Kong after FTX collapsed last month. As FTX was facing a self-made liquidity crisis, she admitted to a group of employees while in Hong Kong that Alameda Research had taken customer funds from FTX to paper over shortfalls in its accounts, according to the New York Times.
In response to a tweet by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, SBF tweeted Sunday that he eventually would testify and explain what happened with FTX.
“Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened,” he wrote, “I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.”
