Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, took the stand as the prosecution’s fifth witness in the six-week trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging that the former FTX CEO directed her to commit fraud and money laundering crimes.
Ellison added that while he ran Alameda, he took several billion dollars from clients to invest in other projects and pay debts to lenders through an “essentially unlimited line of credit.”
Alameda took $14 billion in total from its clients, but “some of us were able to pay it back,” Ellison testified. He also said that he sent revised balance sheets to investors and lenders under Bankman-Fried’s direction so that Alameda Research could “appear less risky than it was.”
Ellison pleaded guilty to multiple charges and accepted plea deals, along with Gary Wang, co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX, and Nishad Singh, chief engineering officer of FTX. Wang testified at the trial from Oct. 5 to noon Tuesday.
Ellison and Bankman-Fried dated for several years on and off, she said, adding that they originally met while she was an intern at quantitative trading firm Jane Street.
Bankman-Fried is on trial for alleged fraud, among other charges.
This story is developing. Updates to follow.
