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Caroline Ellison, a former top executive in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen FTX cryptocurrency empire, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday after she apologized repeatedly to everyone hurt by a fraud that stole billions of dollars from investors and customers of what once seemed like a groundbreaking company in an emerging financial industry.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Ellison’s cooperation in the case was « very, very substantial » and praised her testimony, saying he saw no inconsistencies with documents shown to the jury or things she had previously told prosecutors.
But he said a prison sentence was necessary because she had participated in what might be the « greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country and probably anywhere else » or at least close to it.
He said in such a serious case, he could not let cooperation be a get-out-of-jail-free card.
« I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison », he said.
She was ordered to report to prison Nov. 7.
Ellison, 29, pleaded guilty nearly two years ago and testified against Bankman-Fried for nearly three days at a trial last November.
At sentencing, she emotionally apologized to anyone hurt by the fraud that stretched from 2017 through 2022.
« I’m deeply ashamed with what I’ve done », she said, fighting through tears to say she was « so so sorry » to everyone she had harmed directly or indirectly.
In a court filing, prosecutors said said her testimony was the « cornerstone of the trial » against Bankman-Fried, 32, who was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
