Breaking: Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang plead guilty to fraud charges
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of the criminal case against the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Damian Williams made the announcement on Dec. 22, emphasizing that the latest major development is unlikely to be the last.
"As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week's announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither is today's," he said, adding that:
Williams also confirmed that SBF is now in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is "on his way back to the United States" where he will be transported directly to the Southern District of New York to appear before a judge "as soon as possible."
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang pic.twitter.com/u1y4cs3Koz
Williams also used the statement to send a stark warning to anyone that may have participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda:
SBF was officially handed over from Bahamanian custody to U.S. authorities on Dec. 21 after he waived his right to a formal extradition process that could have taken weeks. His lawyer claimed that SBF wanted to speed up the process as he is currently driven to "put the customers right."
Related: What blockchain analysis can and can't do to find FTX's missing funds: Blockchain.com CEO
Meanwhile, Ellison's recent guilty plea and cooperation with the SDNY may be unsurprising for some, given that she was reportedly spotted at a coffee shop just a short walk away from the U.S.
Read more on cointelegraph.com
