How Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and early recruit helped put the FTX founder behind bars for 25 years
Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, center, arrives at court in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.
Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In sentencing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan cited testimony from Caroline Ellison, an ex-girlfriend of the defendant and early recruit into his crypto enterprise.
“I keep coming back to Ms. Ellison’s testimony that he knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said at the sentencing hearing in downtown Manhattan. “He knew it was criminal.”
Ellison was the star witness for the Department of Justice in its prosecution of Bankman-Fried. She agreed to a plea deal in December 2022, a month after FTX spiraled into bankruptcy.
As part of her testimony at the criminal trial late last year, Ellison supplied the government and the jury with text messages, documents and secret recordings that ultimately helped lead to Bankman-Fried’s conviction on all seven charges against him.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the sentencing on Thursday that Bankman-Fried’s “deliberate and ongoing lies demonstrated a brazen disregard for his customers’ expectations and disrespect for the rule of law, all so that he could secretly use his customers’ money to expand his own power and influence.”
Ellison, who ran FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Though Ellison faces similar sentencing guidelines to Bankman-Fried, she’s expected to receive a far more lenient sentence due to her role as a cooperating witness.
Caroline Ellison is questioned as Sam Bankman-Fried watches during his fraud trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, October 11, 2023 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Ellison’s complicated ties to SBF
Ellison jumped into Bankman-Fried’s crypto orbit in 2017.
She’d been working as a trader at Jane Street, where Bankman-Fried got his start in finance. Bankman-Fried had reportedly convinced the Stanford graduate to ditch her Wall Street gig and join Alameda, when the hedge fund was still in its original Bay Area office.
Ellison spent years as Bankman-Fried’s on-again, off-again girlfriend and, at times, his roommate. She followed Bankman-Fried from California to Hong Kong and ultimately to the Bahamas, as Bankman-Fried repeatedly shifted headquarters for his crypto companies.
Michael Lewis wrote about Ellison in his book, “Going Infinite,” which covered Bankman-Fried’s rise and fall. In 2021, Ellison was promoted to CEO of Alameda, a job for which, according to Lewis’s reporting, neither Ellison nor Bankman-Fried found her particularly well suited.
“Caroline sensed that, even as Sam promoted her to CEO of Alameda Research, he disapproved of her job performance — and she shared his opinion,” Lewis wrote.
Lewis shared an excerpt from one of the memos that Ellison had sent Bankman-Fried. “It feels like I’m doing a much worse job managing Alameda than you would if you were working on it full-time,” she wrote.
In April 2021, Ellison tweeted about “regular amphetamine use” in a thread that also talked about the “herculean” effort it took for her to get off of her couch and go for a hike.
Court filings show that Ellison’s compensation paled in comparison to other top executives. Of the $3.2 billion in payouts to the exchange’s founders and other senior employees, FTX’s head of engineering, Nishad Singh, received $587 million, co-founder Gary Wang got $246 million and $2.2 billion went to Bankman-Fried. Ellison received $6 million.
Some of Ellison’s private diary entries were leaked by Bankman-Fried to The New York Times, which published a report about them last July, months before the trial. The act ultimately landed Bankman-Fried back in jail after Kaplan revoked his bail for alleged witness tampering.
In a Google document from February 2022 shared with the Times, Ellison wrote, “I have been feeling pretty unhappy and overwhelmed with my job. … At the end of the day I can’t wait to go home and turn off my phone and have a drink and get away from it all.”
She added, “It doesn’t really feel like there’s an end in sight.”
‘Trying to fix problems’
But it was in the courtroom that jurors got to hear Ellison for the first time.
U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn said during the trial that Bankman-Fried “was using her as a front” when “in reality, he was still calling the shots at Alameda.” Over the course of her multi-day testimony, Ellison helped prosecutors build a narrative that she was acting at the direction of Bankman-Fried in helping him steal customer money from FTX and using it to help prop up Alameda, which was suffering in the wake of the crypto winter.
Ellison said Bankman-Fried was still CEO of Alameda when the funneling of money began. She said she was under the impression that it was FTX customer money because the sums exceeded the exchange’s profits and the amount of capital it had raised.
In mid-2021, when FTX bought equity in the company back from rival exchange and early investor Binance, FTX used $1 billion in customer funds for the transaction, Ellison testified.
Ellison said she considered resigning from Alameda at various points from 2019 to November 2022.
On one of her Google Docs, Ellison had a section entitled “limiting factors in scaling,” which she said referred to things that were holding back Alameda. The first thing she listed was management, including a comment on her former co-CEO Sam Trabucco.
“I feel like neither Trabucco nor I has been doing a great job of pushing on stuff,” she wrote. “We’re in the mode of maintaining status quo and trying to fix problems.”
In terms of the commingling of operations between FTX and Alameda, Ellison admitted on the witness stand that the two firms didn’t have a proper “Chinese wall” separating the businesses.
During her testimony, Ellison mostly avoided eye contact with Bankman-Fried, staring down at her hands between questions and frequently flipping her hair over her left shoulder. Bankman-Fried also often looked away, with hands clenched.
Ellison told the jury that her breakup with Bankman-Fried in the spring of 2022 affected communications between the two of them. They would talk mostly over Signal despite living in the same apartment, and they largely avoided each other outside of work.
Danielle Sassoon, the assistant U.S. attorney representing the government, told Kaplan several times “the defendant has laughed, visibly shaken his head, and scoffed,” which she said could be having an effect on Ellison “given the history of this relationship, the prior attempts to intimidate her, the power dynamic, their romantic relationship.”
Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, arrives to court in New York, US, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Secret recordings and texts
Of the hundreds of items entered into evidence during the trial, a bank of messages on encrypted app Signal was among the most calamitous for Bankman-Fried.
The government presented a series of Signal exchanges involving Bankman-Fried, Ellison, Wang and other top execs. In one such exchange, from Nov. 8, 2022, Ellison appealed to Bankman-Fried and other members of the inner circle, asking for help on optics and public messaging.
Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
She wrote, “multiple people internally asking me whether they should continue to make statements to external parties like ‘Alameda is solvent.’ should i suggest they stall instead? just stall on responding to their messages? or what?”
That day, FTX issued a pause on all customer withdrawals.
The following day, Ellison again looked to the group for guidance about how to handle an all-hands meeting for Alameda’s roughly 30 employees.
Ellison’s proposal was to tell them, “Alameda is probably going to wind down” and that there was “no pressure” to stay but help with “stuff like making sure our lenders get paid” would be “super appreciated.”
Bankman-Fried suggested she say something about there “being a future of some sort for those who are excited.”
Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Ellison ended up divulging a lot more than that in the staff meeting, a secret recording of which was played for the jury.
“Alameda borrowed a bunch of money,” which it used to make investments, Ellison said at the meeting. But as crypto prices fell, “FTX had a shortfall of user funds” and then “users started withdrawing their funds” and they “realized they would not be able to continue.”
When she was asked by a staffer whose idea it was to plug Alameda’s loan losses with FTX customer money, she said, “Um, Sam, I guess,” and giggled.
“FTX basically always allowed Alameda to, like, borrow user funds, as far as I know,” Ellison said.
![Jeep's new Recon EV sheds its camouflage while charging ahead of its big debut [Photo]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/12/Jeep-Recon-spy-photos.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Another electric Jeep SUV is almost here. With its official debut just around the corner, Jeep’s new Recon EV was spotted charging in production form, giving us our best look at the Wrangler-inspired SUV. Will the Recon live up to its legendary predecessor?
With its first all-electric luxury SUV, the Wagoneer S, arriving at US dealerships any day, we are already getting a look at Jeep’s next EV.
The Recon is Jeep’s second global electric SUV. It was first unveiled in 2022 alongside the Wagoneer S and Avenger as part of its new EV lineup. The Avenger was launched in early 2023 in Europe, but it’s not expected to arrive in the US.
While Jeep is preparing for the first Wagoneer S deliveries in the US, many are even more excited for its next electric SUV.
Although we’ve seen the Recon several times as it inches closer to its official debut, the most recent image reveals the electric SUV in production form.
After introducing the concept, Jeep claimed the rugged EV was still built to conquer any terrain but with zero tailpipe emissions. Perhaps even better, it can do it in near silence.
Jeep says the Recon is “inspired by the legendary Wrangler.” It will feature similar options like removable doors and windows.
Jeep’s Recon EV sheds camo charging ahead of launch
Jeep’s former CEO, Christian Meunier, said the Recon EV could tackle the “mighty Rubicon Trail.” For those unfamiliar with the Rubicon, it’s considered one of the most challenging off-road trails in the world. The rocky terrain, narrow paths, and steep hills make the Rubicon tough for even the most seasoned off-road warriors.
The new image from Kindelauto finally reveals the Jeep’s Recon EV in production form while charging at an EVgo station.
As the electric SUV progresses, it looks more and more like a Ford Bronco. The Recon’s rugged, boxy exterior remains close to the concept.
Earlier this month, we got our first look at the interior. The folks at JeepReconForum spotted a prototype in Michigan with the interior almost completely uncovered. You can see a large infotainment at the center with a smaller driver display screen next to it.
The photos also showed that it included Jeep’s signature Selec-Terrain system. You can see “Rock” and “Mud” modes on the traction interface system, while other options like Snow, Sport, and Tow are expected to be included.
Interestingly, the display screen shows a 147-mile range remaining at 66% charge, suggesting a range of around 223 miles.
With the Wagoneer S expected to have a range of over 300 miles, the Recon should provide a similar range based on the same STLA Large platform.
The Wagoneer S will begin arriving at US dealerships in January 2025, starting at $71,995. Jeep launched the electric SUV’s first marketing campaign earlier this week, proving that “Beautiful Things Can Still Get Dirty.”
Jeep’s Recon EV is expected to officially debut in early 2025. Although prices have yet to be confirmed, it’s expected to start at around $60,000. More premium trims, like the Rubicon, could cost upwards of $80,000.
Source: Kindelauto
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Tesla has finished raising its main steel structure for its Tesla Semi factory, which appears to be on track for production in 2025.
The Tesla Semi program has seen some significant delays, but it feels like it’s finally happening.
It was first unveiled in 2017, and it was supposed to come to market in 2020, but it only officially entered production in late 2022.
Despite unveiling a production version and officially starting production, the program didn’t move much.
In October 2023, we learned that Tesla had only built about 70 Tesla Semi trucks and the company was using them internally and with one main customer: PepsiCo.
In January 2023, Tesla announced an expansion of Gigafactory Nevada to build the Tesla Semi in volume.
However, more than a year later, we hadn’t heard much about the effort.
Earlier this year, Tesla finally started to move some dirt and get some construction going at the site of the new factory. It sounded like plans changed and instead of expanding the existing Giga Nevada as originally planned, Tesla started building a new factory next to the existing one.
In April, Tesla said that the plan is for the factory to be finished next year and start producing Tesla Semi trucks by ‘late 2025’.
Now, right before the end of the year, Tesla released an update on the progress at the plant (via Dan Priestley, head of the Tesla Semi program, on X):
Yesterday, Semi Factory Nevada topped off the main area of the building with the last major piece of structural steel! Fantastic design and execution by this construction team and our contractor partners with focus on safety and efficiency. This factory is going to rock!
He shared a few pictures:
The structure came together rather quickly, but there’s still more work to be done until Tesla can achieve production.
Tesla aims to set up the factory throughout 2025 and bring the Tesla Semi to production on the new lines by the end of the year.
Lately, we have reported that Tesla is also slowly getting Tesla Semi into the hands of other customers.
Things are trending in the right direction.
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Vietnamese automaker VinFast is pulling a late demand lever in 2024 to entice US customers to get behind the wheel of its VF 8 SUV. Designed for SUV-loving families in the US, the VinFast VF 8 is now available to lease for well under $300 a month with $0 down.
The VF 8 is VinFast’s ($VFS) flagship EV, hitting the US market two years ago as a 2023 model. We drove the VF 8 early on, and it was fine, but there were some clear bugs that needed to be sorted out. We noted that 2024 would be a pivotal year for the Vietnamese automaker looking to raise revenues and make up for missed delivery targets in 2023.
This year, the automaker turned to its parent company, Vingroup, and its founder for additional funding while launching two new models, including the three-row VF 9.
Although it faced early software hiccups, VinFast pushed forward to get more of its VF 8 SUVs on US roads, pulling demand levers while expanding its stateside dealer network. Today, VinFast has announced an enticing new lease program for the VF 8 that requires $0 down at signing.
VinFast is offering a VF 8 lease for $279/month
VinFast published a press release today that is more of a love letter to its flagship VF 8 SUV, which includes a little tidbit about a new lease deal. Once you get through the paragraphs of the Vietnamese automaker shilling its innovation and nod to its spot on TIME’s 2024 list of influential companies, there’s a juicy little bonus for any customers interested in a super cheap EV lease from a relatively unknown and unproven automaker.
VinFast hailed its new VF 8 lease offer as one of the most competitive in the US, and that’s hard to argue. Right now, you can lease a base-level ECO trim of the SUV for $0 down and $279 a month thereafter. The VinFast VF 8 lease term is 24 months and includes 10,000 miles a year.
Note that VinFast does not have showrooms in all 50 states yet, so if interested, it’s best to see if the VF 8 and subsequent lease are even possible in your area. What do you think? Would you test out a VF 8 for two years and save some green?
Electrek’s take
The value of this lease offer for a VF 8 from VinFast can’t be denied, but it’s still a tough sell for a number of reasons. As someone who has driven the VF 8, I think it’s more than adequate and can do the job for many people, especially those new to EVs who don’t have anything to compare it to.
My first ride was far too early on in the development process, and there were too many issues for me to forget, so I’d personally pass on this offer. However, VinFast has done a lot of work to resolve those software issues for other consumers.
I still think the biggest hurdle here is brand awareness. The average US consumer has no idea VinFast exists and is not seeking out more information on it to perhaps stumble upon this VF 8 lease deal. It’s a steal for those who are aware of the brand and feel comfortable committing to two years of driving one, but that feels like a niche segment in an already small market sample.
I also think this demand lever shows evidence that VinFast is not making the impact on the US market it had hoped with the VF 8. I’ll be interested to see where their 2024 financials land and how those compare to a year ago, when deliveries were lower than expected. We will keep an eye on that and report back.
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