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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX execs received billions in hidden loans, ex-Alameda CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul’s Alameda Research, the hedge fund’s former chief told a judge when she pleaded guilty to her role in the exchange’s collapse. Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability. A flurry of customer withdrawals in early November amid concerns about commingling of FTX funds with Alameda prompted FTX to declare bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried was arrested in capital Nassau on Dec. 12 and arrived in the United States on Wednesday after consenting to extradition.

☆ Caroline Ellison Apologized for Misconduct in FTX Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Corinne Ramey | James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Caroline Ellison, a close associate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried , apologized in court this week as she pleaded guilty to fraud and other offenses, telling a judge that she and others conspired to steal billions of dollars from customers of the doomed crypto exchange while misleading investors and lenders. “I am truly sorry for what I did,” Ms. Ellison, the former chief executive of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s crypto-trading firm, Alameda Research, said in a New York federal court, according to a transcript of the hearing made available Friday. “I knew that it was wrong.”

☆ Caroline Ellison Apologizes for Misconduct in FTX Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Corinne Ramey | James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Caroline Ellison , a close associate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried , apologized in court this week as she pleaded guilty to fraud and other offenses, telling a judge that she and others conspired to steal billions of dollars from customers of the doomed crypto exchange while misleading investors and lenders. “I am truly sorry for what I did,” Ms. Ellison, the former chief executive of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s crypto-trading firm, Alameda Research, said in a New York federal court, according to a transcript of the hearing made available Friday. “I knew that it was wrong.”

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried doesn't 'have the typical profile of a crook' – and his fear of failure might explain FTX's collapse, Bill Ackman says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ackman compared SBF to convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff, saying neither "have the typical profile of a crook.' The crypto exchange cofounded by Bankman-Fried seems to have been profitable and backed by top venture capitalists, Ackman said Friday. This reminds me of Madoff," tweeted Ackman, the founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Young Wall Street trader Bankman-Fried went from relative obscurity to the head of crypto empire FTX in just four years. That runaway success soon after leaving a top college sheltered Bankman-Fried from learning how to cope with failure, Ackman suggested.

☆ What's next for Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried's ex who helped run Alameda Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Caroline Ellison, Alameda's ex-CEO, is out on a $250,000 bond after pleading guilty in the FTX case. She and FTX cofounder Gary Wang are working with feds probing Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. The plea deals that Ellison, who was the CEO of Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang have struck with federal prosecutors in New York free them each on $250,000 bonds. The counts against Ellison carry a maximum penalty of 110 years, if the sentences for each were to be stacked up. They won't be sentenced until after prosecutors unveil much more of their investigation and Bankman-Fried's own fate becomes clearer.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's law professor parents have stuck close by their son through the fallout from FTX's collapse. Here's what we know about them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cofounder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, is moving back in with his parents. ReutersBankman-Fried, who faces multiple fraud charges tied to the spectacular collapse of FTX, was released on $250 million bail Thursday, shortly after he landed in the US after being extradited from the Bahamas. As part of his bail terms, Bankman-Fried, who also cofounded crypto trading firm Alameda Research, is required to stay at his parents' home while he awaits trial. His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, live in a multimillion-dollar home in Stanford, in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to news reports and state records. Zillow estimates the value of the five-bedroom home at about $4 million, while Redfin's estimate is $3.1 million.

☆ Photos of Caroline Ellison are hard to find, so here are 20 portraits by a robot of your fallen crypto queen wishing you a very happy holiday
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nicholas Carlson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Perhaps you saw the news earlier this week that Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO and ex-lover of Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to charges that carry up to 110 years in prison. If you did, you probably saw the same photo of Ellison that everyone has seen dozens of times. I'm talking about the one where she's looking at the camera through big glasses with a big smile, looking more like a Hufflepuff than a notorious white-collar criminal. So we paid the robots at Lensa to come up with a new one – or a new 20 or so. Happy holidays from Insider and a robot's vision of your fallen crypto queen, Caroline Ellison.

☆ Goldman Sachs' year-end bonuses are going to be brutal, and everyone's pointing fingers on who's to blame
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When things were going good, Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon could seemingly do no wrong. Last year, thanks to a booming M&A market and a favorable trading environment, life was good at the elite Wall Street bank. Top tech executives from 10 Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, and KKR, share their predictions for the top public-cloud trends next year. Bad news: You're not the only one waiting for rates to drop to buy a home; so is Wall Street. Here's what a home-buying spree from Wall Street could mean for the entire industry.

☆ It's time to revive the 'pink-slip parties' of the early 2000s
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

First: Remember "pink-slip parties"? Now, 20-some years later, pink-slip parties are being floated as a way to ameliorate the pain felt by recently laid-off tech workers. Pink-slip parties originated with the dot-com bubble burst, when laid-off employees would gather to commiserate, laugh, drink, and meet prospective hiring managers. Hemming began running regular meetups for laid-off tech workers — misery loves company, after all — giving them an opportunity to network. She shared her thoughts on everything from the current hiring landscape to the benefits of pink-slip parties for younger generations.

☆ FTX US's auditor stands by its accounting work for the collapsed crypto exchange, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Armanino, the auditor for FTX's US branch, defended its accounting work for the exchange. "We were never engaged to audit internal controls," the company's chief operating officer told the FT.Armanino has stopped its auditing and proof of reserve work. "We definitely stand by the FTX US work," Armanino chief operating officer Chris Carlberg told the Financial Times on Friday. During a congressional hearing, Ray pointed to the fact that the multibillion-dollar crypto exchange used QuickBooks to manage its finances, and approved invoices via Slack. Armanino and Prager Metis, the auditor of FTX International, are being sued by FTX customers.

☆ Alameda's ex-CEO tells judge she hid billions in loans to FTX execs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Alameda Research FollowNEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul's Alameda Research, the hedge fund's former chief told a judge in her guilty plea for her role in the exchange's collapse. "We prepared certain quarterly balance sheets that concealed the extent of Alameda’s borrowing and the billions of dollars in loans that Alameda had made to FTX executives and to related parties," Ellison told U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal court, according to the transcript. Bankman-Fried has been accused of orchestrating an "epic" fraud that led to the loss of billions of dollars of customer and investor funds. He has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability and he has not entered a plea. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York Writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Del.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of misappropriating billions of dollars deposited in the crypto currency exchange, will be released on $250 million personal recognizance bond, a federal judge in New York ruled Thursday. Bankman-Fried, wearing a dark blue suit and tan shoes, walked into court with shackles around his ankles. A recognizance bond is a written commitment from the accused to appear in court when ordered. Bankman-Fried’s parents, both Stanford Law professors, were in the courtroom. Sam Bankman-Fried, center, arrives at the Magistrate Court building for a hearing in Nassau, Bahamas, on Dec. 21, 2022.

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX is becoming clearer. Complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Wednesday night provide the most comprehensive look yet at how Sam Bankman-Fried’s operation came crashing down. The new documents, totalling 81 pages, allege how FTX sent customer funds to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, directed high-level executives to create special software code to make such transfers easier, hid losses, and even continued to secretly siphon funds to Alameda as the company was headed toward insolvency. Two top business associates of Bankman-Fried, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, are defendants in the civil cases brought by the SEC and CFTC and have pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges, a federal prosecutor in New York said Wednesday. Here are the 14 most notable passages in the complaints, with the full documents embedded below:

☆ New FTX Charges Against Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Show U.S. Is Going After Deputies Too
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Vicky Ge Huang | Hannah Miao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The guilty plea on fraud charges by two associates of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried paves the way for U.S. authorities to hold more of his deputies responsible for the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse. Caroline Ellison, who ran FTX’s sister trading firm Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, both pleaded guilty this week to criminal offenses similar to those Mr. Bankman-Fried was charged with and are cooperating with federal investigators.

The co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty to fraud, a federal prosecutor in New York said Wednesday. The SEC complaint alleges that Wang "created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds," and that Ellison used those funds for Alameda's trading. The SEC complaint alleges a complex scheme to trick both investors and customers into believing that FTX had strict and advance risk mitigation. "From the inception of FTX, Defendants and Bankman-Fried diverted FTX customer funds to Alameda, and continued to do so until FTX’s collapse in November 2022," the SEC complaint reads. “If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it,” he said.

[1/2] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, collapsing amid a wave of customer withdrawals. New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell is representing FTX in its Chapter 11 case and guiding its efforts to return assets to customers. Court-approved billing rates for bankruptcy attorneys did not cross the $2,000-per-hour mark until earlier this year, when a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a $2,035-per-hour fee in the bankruptcy of cosmetics giant Revlon. Before FTX's bankruptcy, Sullivan & Cromwell represented the company in U.S. regulatory inquiries and on potential acquisitions, including its proposed acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital.

☆ Read the SEC complaint accusing former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX cofounder Gary Wang of participating in a years-long fraud with Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It said Alameda Research's Caroline Ellison and FTX's Gary Wang were "active participants" in fraud. The SEC complaint was published Wednesday. Bankman-Fried has been accused of siphoning off FTX customers' money for his personal use on venture investments, real-estate purchases, and political donations. The SEC said that Wang created software that helped divert FTX customer funds to Alameda and that Ellison misappropriated these funds for Alameda's trading activity. The SEC said Ellison and Wang were cooperating with the investigation.

☆ Caroline Ellison is cooperating with prosecutors after the collapse of FTX. New legal docs reveal how she acted on behalf of Sam Bankman-Fried.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison pinned FTX's downfall on disgraced cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried, SEC documents show. "Ellison, at Bankman-Fried's direction, caused Alameda to manipulate the price of FTT," the SEC complaint reads. Prosecutors are accusing Bankman-Fried of using his Alameda trading firm as "his personal piggy bank." 'At Bankman-Fried's direction'The phrase "at Bankman-Fried's direction" is listed 10 times in the 38-page document, most often linked to Ellison. Despite being co-CEO of Alameda, Ellison usually consulted Bankman-Fried prior to making any big decisions regarding the firm as well.

☆ Life at Wall Street headhunting firm Durlston Partners appeared picturesque, but some insiders say that wasn't the reality
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Life at Durlston Partners. Insider's Alex Morrell has a gripping report on life at Durlston Partners, a headhunting firm that places talent at some of Wall Street's biggest buy-side firms. Durlston Partners, or "DP" as it was known within the company, promoted an unbeatable culture. Click here to read more about life inside Durlston Partners and allegations about the leadership of Bahram. Jamie Dimon's 17-year tenure on the top of JPMorgan has made him the face of Wall Street.

FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research co-CEO Caroline Ellison both pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a message Wednesday. Wang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Ellison 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. The SEC alleges that both Ellison and Wang, in their respective roles at Alameda and FTX, abetted Bankman-Fried in allegedly defrauding FTX customers. Ellison, 28, and Wang, 29, become the second and third individuals to be charged in connection with FTX's multibillion-dollar collapse.

☆ Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda, is facing up to 110 years in prison after pleading guilty to 7 charges including fraud in the FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, is facing up to 110 years in prison. Per her plea deal, Ellison has pleased guilty to seven charges, including wire, securities, and commodities fraud. According to the plea agreement, Ellison faces seven charges that collectively carry a maximum prison sentence of 110 years. As part of her plea deal, Ellison must cooperate fully with prosecutors, the FBI, and any other law enforcement agencies. Also working with Bankman-Fried and Ellison at Alameda Research was FTX cofounder Gary Wang.

☆ FTX founder Bankman-Fried to make U.S. court appearance after extradition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to appear before a U.S. court on Thursday after being extradited from The Bahamas, where he had remained since the collapse of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. "If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it," Williams said. At his U.S. court appearance, known as an arraignment, Bankman-Fried is expected to be asked to enter a plea. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability. Since his arrest on Monday, Bankman-Fried was detained at the Bahamas Department of Corrections prison, known as Fox Hill.

☆ Read the CFTC complaint against FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The CFTC filed fraud charges against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried, who cofounded FTX and Alameda, was arrested in the Bahamas last week and extradited to the US on Wednesday. The amended complaint charges Ellison with fraud and material misrepresentations and Wang with fraud. The CFTC said Ellison and Wang didn't contest their liability on its claims. On Wednesday the Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Ellison and Wang with participating in a scheme to defraud both FTX's equity investors and its customers.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried played crossword puzzles, read local newspapers, and ate vegan food while in a notorious Bahamas jail, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried played crossword puzzles while being held in a notorious Bahamas jail, Bloomberg reported. He was held in Fox Hill prison's sick bay, where inmates have running water, among other perks, per Bloomberg. Bankman-Fried flew from the Bahamas to New York overnight Wednesday to face fraud charges in the US. New arrivals at Fox Hill must spend two weeks in the jail's sick bay to check they don't have COVID-19, the Daily Mail reported a prison source as saying. Fox Hill's sick bay may be an improvement on the rest of the jail but it's nonetheless a considerable downgrade from Bankman-Fried's $30 million Bahamas penthouse.

☆ The charges against Caroline Ellison, SBF, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang — in 60 seconds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Alameda's former CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX cofounder Gary Wang are in the SEC's crosshairs. US Attorney Damian Williams said on Wednesday that Ellison and FTX cofounder Gary Wang had pleaded guilty to various charges, including fraud, and are cooperating with the government. Still, Ellison and Wang perpetuated the alleged fraud of FTX's investors and customers, according to the SEC. That gave the firm broad access to FTX customer funds — and Ellison knowingly traded at Alameda using that money. The complaint largely painted Bankman-Fried as the one making allegedly fraudulent assurances to investors, but cast Ellison and Wang as loyal enablers.

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