SBF's Ex-Girlfriend Testifies in Bombshell Revelation: How SBF Manipulated FTX, Alameda, and His Ambitions?
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SBF's Ex-Girlfriend Testifies in Bombshell Revelation: How SBF Manipulated FTX, Alameda, and His Ambitions?
SBF directed the commission of crimes; SBF wanted to become President of the United States; FTX and Alameda were initially operated by the same team...
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Songxue, Jinse Finance
On October 11, 2023, Jinse Finance reported that Caroline Ellison, former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried (hereinafter referred to as SBF), had testified in the SBF case. Her testimony is the most significant so far in SBF's high-stakes criminal trial. (Related reading: "SBF's Ex-Girlfriend to Take the Stand – What Can We Expect From Her Testimony?") Ellison's testimony is pivotal in the SBF case: SBF directed her to commit crimes; SBF wanted to become U.S. President; FTX and Alameda were initially operated by the same team—her testimony also touched on their romantic relationship and her multimillion-dollar bonuses... This testimony helps us better understand how SBF's business empire collapsed.
1. Who is Caroline Ellison?
Caroline Ellison is the former CEO of Alameda Research, SBF’s ex-girlfriend, and the star witness for the prosecution in the government's case against the disgraced crypto prodigy.
A 28-year-old Stanford graduate, Ellison had an on-and-off romantic relationship with SBF over several years. She served as CEO of Alameda Research, the cryptocurrency trading firm founded by SBF, which allegedly misappropriated $8 billion in customer funds from FTX.
SBF’s attorneys have suggested Ellison may bear primary responsibility for Alameda’s collapse, portraying a scenario in which Ellison, preoccupied with managing FTX and other duties, delegated Alameda’s operations to trusted deputies.
2. What Did Ellison Testify?
1. SBF Directed Her Crimes – SBF Was the Ultimate Decision-Maker in the FTX Empire
Ellison testified in court: “Alameda took billions of dollars from FTX customers and used it for its own investments and to repay lenders. Ultimately, we took about $14 billion, some of which we could have repaid.”
She asserted SBF’s guilt in orchestrating the massive fraud involving FTX and Alameda. When called to the stand and asked to confirm her former boss and boyfriend’s involvement, Ellison stated: “He instructed me to commit these crimes.” Ellison pleaded guilty last December to seven felony charges. Meanwhile, SBF has denied all charges against him.
She emphasized that SBF was the ultimate decision-maker in the FTX empire: SBF was fully aware that Alameda accessed funds from FTX customers and enjoyed nearly unlimited credit lines on the cryptocurrency exchange. Although he publicly distanced himself from Alameda and claimed he didn’t manage the firm, Ellison said SBF personally guided her on handling Alameda’s holdings of FTT tokens, its venture investments, and other key business decisions.
“I sent balance sheets at SBF’s direction to make Alameda’s accounts appear more stable to investors,” she said. She also confirmed that Alameda used funds taken from FTX for its own investments.
2. SBF Had a Huge Appetite for Risk and Wanted to Be U.S. President
According to Ellison, Alameda faced hidden risks such as unpaid loans from crypto lending firm Genesis and potential downturns in the digital asset market, but SBF often dismissed her concerns. Despite these significant risks, she noted, SBF still wanted to proceed with $3 billion in venture investments.
She also provided insight into SBF’s purchase in May 2022 of over $600 million worth of Robinhood shares. She said Alameda paid for the shares, but when public disclosure became necessary, SBF requested the stake be transferred to another FTX entity, Emergent Fidelity, because he did not want to be associated with Alameda. This transaction further demonstrated that despite his claims of detachment, SBF remained closely tied to Alameda.
She added that SBF harbored ambitions of becoming U.S. President, was “very interested” in politics, and spoke of using his wealth to exert political influence.
3. FTX and Alameda Were Initially Operated by the Same Team
Ellison stated that FTX and Alameda were originally run by the same team. In FTX’s early days, the crypto exchange struggled to obtain bank accounts, so Alameda received customer deposits from FTX into its own bank accounts. This arrangement continued until 2022, when FTX customer funds were moved into separate FTX bank accounts.
Alameda also issued personal loans to SBF, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and former engineering director Nishad Singh, totaling over $5 billion by mid-2022.
In a January 2022 tweet, SBF announced that FTX was launching a $2 billion venture fund, but in reality, the fund was controlled by Alameda. SBF reportedly believed “Alameda’s brand wasn’t great,” which was why he named the fund after FTX instead.
Before the collapse of FTX and Alameda, both SBF and Ellison publicly maintained that the two companies were entirely independent and that Alameda held no special privileges within FTX.
She also testified that “any major decision” at Alameda was always made by SBF.
4. $200K Annual Salary, $20M Bonus, Romantic and Professional Relationship With Ex-Boyfriend
Ellison also discussed her romantic relationship with SBF. She spoke about the difficulty of reporting directly to her boyfriend, noting that SBF could fire her at any time. “Throughout our entire dating period, he was also my boss, which led to some awkward situations,” she said, adding that SBF often seemed disengaged and failed to give her sufficient attention.
But her former boyfriend offered her a lucrative compensation package: a $200,000 annual salary and a $20 million bonus in 2021.
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