Bankman-Fried associates, Ellison and Wang plead guilty to federal fraud
Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, an FTX (FTT-USD) co-founder and former chief technology officer, both with close ties to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty federal criminal fraud.
In a statement Wednesday night posted on TwitterU.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that the duo were charged due to “their role in the fraud that contributed to the demise of FTX.”
Ellison and Wang are also working with the Southern District as the federal government builds their case against Bankman-Fried.
Williams also sent a warning to others. “If you have been involved in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get over it. We are moving fast and our patience is not eternal.”
He added that Bankman-Fried is currently in FBI custody and is en route to the United States from the Bahamas.
On December 12, the moderator was charged by a federal court in New York on multiple counts including wire transfer fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. He could appear in US court as soon as Thursday.
The SEC complaint against Ellison and Wang alleges that Ellison, under the direction of Bankman-Fried, manipulated the price of FTT, an exchange-cryptocurrency security token issued by FTX, by buying in bulk on the market open market to artificially inflate prices.
The SEC alleges that Wang created FTX software code that allowed Alameda to transfer FTX customer funds and that Ellison misused these funds for Alameda’s trading.
“When the FTT and the rest of the house collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried, Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang left investors with their wallets,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. statement.