Could FTX’s crypto lady Caroline Ellison indict SBF? Here’s everything we know

FTX crypto lady Caroline Ellison, 28-year-old former CEO of Alameda Research as well as alleged partner of Sam Bankman-Fried, was recently spotted in New York City at a café a few blocks from the FBI offices, according to sources.

The news emerges on CoinGeek‘s official Twitter account in which it reads: 

Caroline Ellison is about to flip on Sam Bankman-Friedhttps://t.co/yMZtQxIuai

— CoinGeek (@RealCoinGeek) December 6, 2022

Latest sightings of crypto lady and possible dismantling of FTX empire 

Before she was spotted near New York City, it appears that Caroline Ellison was hiding somewhere in Dubai or Hong Kong after the disastrous collapse of FTX, according to some sources. 

Indeed, on JagoeCapital’s Twitter account the crypto lady’s latest whereabouts are reported: 

Today @carolinecapital was spotted at a Manhattan coffee shop, according to @AutismCapital

Caroline was seen at Ground Support Coffee in SoHo around 8:15 AM, about 6 minutes away from an @FBI field office 👀

Before the siting, she was reported to be hiding out in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/mldeTG1yDw

— J//G0Ξ (@JagoeCapital) December 4, 2022

So, her return to the United States in these ways leads most to think of only one thing: Ellison is probably in town to negotiate with investigators for the purpose of unmasking Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX. 

Although it is not yet clear whose precise fault it is for what happened at FTX, all of the exchange’s employees appear to have been involved in rampant fraud in the misuse of customer assets, and the extent of the offense makes FTX look like a criminal racket with each new revelation.

If this is true, Ellison’s alleged cooperation with investigators will probably be remembered as the first phase in the dismantling of the FTX empire. Which, recall, is currently under scrutiny by the Justice Department and multiple U.S. regulators. 

In particular, the fact that the authorities have probably succeeded in cooperating with Ellison could be definitively disastrous for SBF. The crypto lady, in fact, was not only one of its senior deputies through her role as CEO at Alameda, but also appears to have been in a romantic relationship with SBF.

So, put simply, Caroline, in addition to exposing the inner workings of the FTX group, could also shed light on what SBF has said in its recent public statements, when it claimed that it was never in its intentions to perpetrate fraud against client funds. 

Ellison and Bankman-Fried: conflicting statements

Despite SBF’s benign statements about his intentions before the FTX collapse, what, on the other hand, the crypto lady said after the exchange’s collapse seems to belie every word of the former CEO. 

Normal, then, at this point that everyone is wondering what is the truth behind one of the biggest and most disastrous collapses in the crypto world. Apparently, one of the few things Ellison has done since the scandal broke was to confirm to Alameda employees that $10 billion of FTX customer funds were transferred to Alameda and that she, Bankman-Fried and two other the executives knew about the move.

Throughout, Bankman-Fried used the Financial Times, the New York Times and several Twitter broadcasts to test her colleague’s claims. However, she has categorically refused to appear before Congress to testify about the collapse and her role in it.

In fact, SBF recently stated on Twitter: 

Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services:

Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.

I'm not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify. https://t.co/c0P8yKlyQt

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 4, 2022

Moreover, Bankman-Fried was reassuring clients that FTX funds were safe even as staff began sealing the exits and billions of dollars were being transferred from FTX to Alameda. So, the story still seems to be too unclear. 

 The role of the crypto lady after the FTX collapse

Bankman-Fried’s behavior in the wake of the FTX collapse contrasts sharply with that of Ellison, who is allegedly following the advice of her lawyers. Indeed, other than a brief series of tweets as the story unfolded, the crypto lady has otherwise remained silent. 

No social media appearances, no interviews given to the New York Times, and no appearances on any stage. Obviously, the approaches of the two protagonists in the story led to different kinds of criticism. 

While Bankman-Fried was confessing to Vox, in fact, Ellison was nowhere to be seen. And, now, apparently, while Bankman-Fried was spending last weekend with the FT, going back on his earlier statements about knowing nothing about Alameda’s financial health, Ellison was allegedly spending his time in front of investigators.

However, between the lines of Bankman-Fried’s public statements in recent weeks there have been subtle deflections of responsibility to other figures within FTX, not least Caroline Ellison. 

In particular, in an interview with New York Magazine published on December 1, Bankman-Fried was very clear:  

“Caroline had a good sense of the financial aspects of FTX US and FTX International, but the problem was that the Alameda entity run by Ellison had ‘gotten leverage.'” 

So, the matter still seems to be very convoluted regarding the apportionment of blame for what happened to the FTX exchange, we just have to wait for further updates for more clarity, including on the next moves by crypto lady Ellison.