FTX’s Gary Wang & Alameda’s Caroline Ellison Plead Guilty To Criminal Charges
FTX’s Gary Wang & Alameda’s Caroline Ellison Plead Guilty To Criminal Charges.
Despite former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried continuously denying knowing about the misuse of customer funds, two executives from both his companies have pled guilty to the charges made against them.
Gary Wang & Caroline Ellison Pleading Guilty
FTX co-founder and former CTO Gary Wang as well as former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison have both pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Southern District of New York, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Wednesday night.
Wang reportedly pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Ellison on the other hand, reportedly 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.
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang pic.twitter.com/u1y4cs3Koz
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 22, 2022
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In a seperate announcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also announced that it will be charging the two executives “for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX.”
According to The NYT, Gary Wang’s attorney says that “Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness.”
Update On SBF
The two executives pleading guilty follows the news that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) had recently agreed to be extradited to the United States, only recently being announced to have arrived in the country and is currently in the custody of U.S officials.
“Sam Bankman-Fried is now in FBI custody and is on his way back to the United States. He will be transported directly to the Southern District of New York, and he will appear in court before a judge in this district as soon as possible.” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a recent video posted to the New York Attorney’s Twitter account.
SBF himself has been charged with 8 different counts including wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, and faces a possibility of a maximum of 115 years in prison if found guilty on all charges. Up to this point however, despite the other two executives pleading guilty, SBF has remained to claim himself innocent and ‘unaware’ of the misuse of funds.
U.S. Attorney Williams also put out a warning towards others who may have participated in the collapse of FTX and Alameda saying, “Let me reiterate a call that I made last week. If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. We are moving quickly, and our patience is not eternal.”
Related: SBF Defies Legal Advice, Set For Extradition To U.S
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