Former Alameda Research Co-CEO Caroline Ellison Released From Federal Custody

Caroline Ellison’s release marks another milestone in the FTX case as enforcement and executive bans continue across the crypto sector.

More than two years after the collapse of FTX, developments tied to the case continue to surface. Former Alameda Research executive Caroline Ellison was released from federal custody this week. Her release follows months in confinement as part of a reduced sentence tied to that cooperation.

Alameda’s Caroline Ellison Concludes Sentence in FTX Fraud Case

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Caroline Ellison, 31, was released on Wednesday from a residential reentry management facility in New York. Ellison had been in community confinement since October 2025 after being transferred from a federal prison in Connecticut. 

She began serving a two-year sentence in November 2024 after pleading guilty in the case tied to the collapse of Alameda Research. As a top executive at Alameda, Ellison was involved in the misuse of customer funds.

Prosecutors said Alameda gained access to billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits through an unlimited line of credit. These funds were also routed directly into Alameda’s bank account, known as “fiat@.”

In December 2022, Ellison pleaded guilty to multiple charges. These included wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. 

FTX Collapse Spurs Executive Bans and Ongoing Enforcement Actions

During the latter part of the trial, Ellison agreed to cooperate with authorities. She testified against her former partner, Sam Bankman-Fried. Ellison told the court that he instructed her to carry out actions that led to the downfall of the exchange.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced in March to nearly 25 years in prison for stealing more than $8 billion from customers and investors. The court also ordered him to repay up to $11 billion in losses. Recent reports have suggested he has been seeking a presidential pardon.

Ellison was ordered to forfeit more than $11 billion to the court and could face additional restitution claims. Other former FTX executives, including Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, also faced criminal charges but avoided prison after cooperating with investigators.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it plans to seek long-term bans preventing Ellison, Wang, and Singh from serving as officers or directors of public companies. The move reflects ongoing efforts by regulators to tighten oversight after FTX’s collapse in November 2022 triggered one of the largest bankruptcies in crypto history.

Image by Sasun Bughdaryan from Unsplash

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