Reports Suggest Caroline Ellison Is Working With Feds, Spinning FTX Co-Founder Bankman-Fried – Bitcoin News

Following the arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), onlookers continue to wonder where former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison is and whether or not she joined SBF. A few reports suggest that Ellison is “probably working with the feds”, which is possibly why Ellison was allegedly seen at the Ground Support cafe in Soho.

Does Caroline have Rat at SBF? No one has heard a peep from the mysterious ex-Alameda leader since FTX collapsed

Many crypto fans and the media have been wondering where Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, is currently at. After FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) went on a media tour with the likes of the New York Times’ Dealbook event and his appearance on Good Morning America. So over a month after FTX collapsed, SBF was arrested in the Bahamas and indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been a peep from Ellison. On Wednesday, the public was made aware that FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame allegedly turned against SBF on November 9, two days before the FTX bankruptcy filing. Salame reportedly told Bahamian authorities that SBF sent client funds to the firm Alameda Research. The only thing the public knows about Ellison is that she is reportedly now represented by former SEC Enforcement Division chief Stephanie Avakian and the Wilmerhale legal team. Since SBF’s arrest, a few reports suggest that Ellison has also been dirty on SBF.

For example, New York Post writers Ben Feuerherd and Bruce Golding published an article on December 14 stating, “Caroline Ellison likely working with FBI against Sam Bankman-Fried.” The New York Post reports that experts say that “hell prison in the Bahamas” could make the SBF drop the extradition fight. The report details that the prison SBF lives in is dirty and “maggot-infested” and allegedly SBF’s family has tried to get him vegan food. As for Ellison, the Post spoke with former SEC attorney Howard Fischer, who said Ellison had a strong incentive to work in law enforcement.

“She would have among the greatest incentives to cooperate, since it seemed likely that Bankman-Fried, in his attempt to free himself, would try to seize her,” Fischer told the Post. “The speed of the indictment and the breadth of the charges” meant that “some relatively senior people are cooperating with the federal authorities in exchange for leniency for their own potential wrongdoing,” Fischer added. The former SEC attorney continued:

It’s possible Bankman-Fried’s publicity tour, in which he repeatedly denied either knowledge of — or responsibility for — the mishandling or theft of client funds, spurred senior officers to fear he would specifically blame them.

SDNY Prosecutor Urges Senior FTX and Alameda Leaders to Come Forward – Ellison’s Neighbor Hasn’t Seen Caroline ‘Since Around Thanksgiving’

The New York Post is not the only publication to speculate that Ellison may have been at the wheel of SBF. Gawker.com writes that she “is believed to be working with US law enforcement in their case against Bankman-Fried.” The publication published two reports on the subject and discussed it at length in a post called “Did Caroline Ellison Snitch?” The author explains that Ellison was able to sneak into Gawker’s personal “girl to girls” by reaching out to the publication’s tip email.

Also, Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutor Damian Williams mentioned that someone came forward in his statements to the press. “To anyone who participated in wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda Research and has not yet come forward, I would strongly urge you to visit us before we come to you,” Williams stressed. Williams also revealed that he was “not at liberty to say who has come in” so far.

The so-called foodlet Ellison who had zero problems speaks about her “regular amphetamine use” on social media, has remained silent since her latest tweets. Reporters from the Post also visited Ellison’s parents’ home, and the duo said they were “too busy” to chat with the press. Sara Fischer Ellison and her husband, Glenn Ellison, are both economists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “I have not seen [Caroline] since around Thanksgiving,” a neighbor of the Ellisons told the New York Post. If Ellison works with US law enforcement, it’s possible she got to visit her parents during the holiday.

What do you think of the reports suggesting that Caroline Ellison may have turned on SBF? Why do you think the former Alameda chief has remained silent? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the news editor at Bitcoin.com News and a financial technology journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.