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The latest FTX-related sentencing saw Caroline Ellison, the former co-CEO of Alameda Research, handed two years behind bars for her role in the exchange’s spectacular collapse. Ellison is expected to be in prison by November 7. Ellison’s sentence was so lenient thanks to her lending the investigation her full cooperation. Indeed, the judge presiding over the case noted that he hadn’t seen a cooperator “quite like Ms. Ellison.” However, he also made it clear that due to the severity of the case, remorse and cooperation aren’t a complete “get out of jail free card.”  She had pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy and became the third individual involved in FTX’s crimes to be jailed.  Here’s a chart of every indicted FTX and Alameda official sentenced, or waiting to be sentenced.  Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years for FTX-Alameda fraud Read more: Which FTX and Alameda executives are going to prison and when? Collectively, Sam Bankman-Fried, Ryan ...

Unfortunately, it’s not looking good for FTX customers looking to raise the tragically low bitcoin price that the bankruptcy estate will use to calculate their repayments. Yesterday, a US bankruptcy judge denied a victim’s request to use a higher price than $16,871. Specifically, the judge denied Australian Bitcoin miner NuGenesis Ou’s request to vacate a January 31 ruling that set the USD calculation date for crypto asset pricing to November 11, 2022. On a separate and unrelated issue, NuGenesis also complained about FTX calculating the price of its proprietary token, NuCoin, at $0 as of November 11, 2022. More relevant to most customers who simply owned bitcoin or major altcoins, however, is that the bankruptcy judge denied NuGenesis’ request to move the USD calculation date away from November 11, 2022 for any crypto asset. NuGenesis’ attorney argued that the company didn’t receive its legally required notice of the November 11, 2022 date. However, FTX attorneys argued...

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief exec of FTX and owner of Alameda Research, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison today, according to reporting from Inner City Press.  This sentence comes after a jury found him guilty of multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Both FTX and Alameda Research declared bankruptcy following the misappropriation of billions of dollars of funds by Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators.  Bankman-Fried’s defense has claimed that the losses from these collapsed firms should not be considered, stating that the bankruptcy was likely to have a full recovery. Current FTX CEO John J. Ray III said this was “categorically, callously, and demonstrably false.”  Inner City Press reported that Judge Kaplan agreed with Ray’s characterization, claiming the defense’s argument was misleading .  Judge Kaplan: I reject the defense's argument about loss, both ...

Binance ’s chief compliance officer Noah Perlman reportedly has ties to the collapse of FTX , the troubled Winklevoss-owned Gemini , and infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. This is according to a report by investigative media outlet Unlimited Hangout. Perlman took up his current role at Binance after his predecessor Samuel Lim left the company last year and is, as detailed by Unlimited Hangout, front and center in Binance’s attempts to successfully negotiate numerous government investigations, including recent settlements with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and an ongoing legal tussel with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These issues have recently seen former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) plead guilty in a Seattle court to a number of felony charges, and Lim agree to pay $1.5 million in civil penalties to the CFTC . However, according to Unlimited Hangout, Perlman’s own colorful history bears a closer look, p...

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX filed in Delaware bankruptcy court to sell certain trust assets worth about $744 million owned by Grayscale and Bitwise. According to a joint statement from FTX and its debtors, this initiative will help prepare for payments to creditors in US dollars and allow debtors to move to sell trust assets at a lower price quickly. The document also states that selling trust assets to one or more buyers in one or more sales will reduce the cost and delay of filing a separate solicitation for each proposed sale under the sales procedures. “Additionally, because the Debtors may sell the Trust Assets to one or more buyers in one or more sales, sales pursuant to the Sale Procedures will alleviate the cost and delay of filing a separate motion for each proposed sale.” Court filing In March, affiliated debtors FTX and Alameda Research filed a lawsuit against Grayscale Investments. So, the plaintiffs are demanding the release of funds for shareholders of the Gra...

Concluding the third week of Bankman-Fried’s trial , the former general counsel revealed that FTX had a $7 billion shortage in its customer funds. The third week of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial concludes today with the testimony of Can Sun, former General Counsel at the company. Sun explains details of how Bankman-Fried lied to regulators and investors about the treatment of customer funds, and how more than $7 billion in customer deposits were mishandled by the former CEO. Here are the key highlights from today’s session:  Testimony of Can Sun, former General Counsel at FTX Bankman-Fried promised Sun that customer funds were segregated from the company’s expenditures. Sun didn’t approve any customer funds to be loaned to Alameda. Sun unknowingly lied to investors and regulators about the relationship between FTX and Alameda, saying that both companies were separate and had no financial link. Bankman-Fried took a $360 million loan from Alameda, while Sun ...

On day 6 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial , Caroline Ellison revealed how the defendant forged several balance sheets to defraud lenders and bribed Chinese officials. The second week of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s continues, as former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison testifies how SBF directed her to forge several balance sheets and mislead lenders like Genesis. Today’s session also revealed how the former FTX CEO bribed Chinese officials and tried to initiate a regulatory crackdown on Binance, the major competitor of FTX at that time.  Testimony of Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research Assistant US Attorney continued his direct examination of Caroline Ellison today. Here are the key points of her testimony on day six: Alameda had open-ended loans, so the lenders recalled the loans as soon as the market declined in 2022. Genesis wanted back $400 million from their open-term loan. Ellison was stressed out, and had to get that fund from FTX customer funds. SBF told E...

The trial of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for a multibillion-dollar fraud case has a diverse jury panel consisting of various professions and backgrounds, including a retired banker, a pediatric nurse, and a special education teacher.  The panel was selected on the second day of the trial in Manhattan after narrowing down from an initial list of 45 candidates.  Each potential juror had 60 seconds to introduce themselves and reveal their background, employment, and personal life details.  One juror was excused after disclosing their employment at a firm with investments in FTX and Alameda Research. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan conferred with both the prosecution and defense teams before announcing the final list of jurors about 15 minutes later. Bankman-Fried faces allegations of diverting billions from FTX customer accounts for speculative trades via the linked hedge fund, Alameda Research.  He is also accused of allocating these funds for ...

The infamous FTX exploiter with address 0x3e957 has resurfaced. After 10 months of in activity , the hacker that masterminded the multi-million dollar FTX heist transferred 2,500 ETH, equivalent to $4.2 million, from their dormant address.  This marks the first activity from the address since the infamous hack almost a year ago. According to blockchain analytics platform Spotonchain, the address 0x3e957 still holds a substantial 12.5K ETH.  The attacker now reportedly controls a staggering 180,735 ETH across 13 addresses, totaling an approximate value of $302.5 million.  You might also like: FTX hacker is using ChipMixer which might have ties with the government Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial looms Almost a year after the collapse of FTX, founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces an imminent trial. The proceedings are set to commence on Oct. 3, extending for at least 21 days until Nov. 9. During this period, Bankman-Fried will remain in custody at a Brooklyn prison, where ...

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who previously endorsed the now-defunct FTX, is ready to pay settlements to clear his name. Lawrence is among the list of famous names who promoted FTX and is currently facing charges related to the fall of the exchange. Lawrence, high-profile figures embroiled in FTX scandal Lawrence is set to settle allegations surrounding his endorsement of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange. This settlement, which also includes YouTube influencers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash, forms part of a legal battle involving sports figures accused of participating in FTX’s fall, allegedly orchestrated by founder Sam Bankman-Fried. You might also like: Delaware Judge allows FTX to sell up to $100 million of coins every week Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty, is expected to face trial next month in Manhattan on criminal charges. Other high-profile individuals who endorsed FTX and are now facing lawsuits include Shaquille O...

The legal industry has risen as a major beneficiary amid the financial downturn of several prominent cryptocurrency firms, garnering hundreds of millions in fees. According to a report on Sep. 5, professionals , including lawyers, accountants, and consultants, have amassed at least $700 million from the bankruptcy cases of major crypto entities in the past year. This substantial figure encompasses the fees incurred from the bankruptcy proceedings of five notable crypto companies: FTX, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, BlockFi, and Genesis Global, from July 5, 2022, to July 31, 2023. As these cases continue to evolve, the total amount is expected to surge, especially with the forthcoming trial of Sam Bankman Fried in October. The data indicates that the legal experts engaged in the FTX case have been the primary beneficiaries, billing a cumulative amount of $326 million. Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy, has invoiced over $110 million in legal...

The main allegation by SEC against Binance and CZ is that they knowingly operated as an illegal, unregistered US Securities business, evading investor and market protections laws. advertisement US SEC chief Gary Gensler tweeted that Zhao and Binance entities allegedly engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law. “A web of deceptions” US SEC alleged in its lawsuit that as a part of a plan to evade US regulatory oversight over Zhao, Binance , Binance .com platform, Zhao and Binance created BAM Management and BAM Trading in the United States and claimed publicly that these entities independently controlled the operations of the Binance .US platform. But CZ and Binance were controlling BAM Trading’s US business operations and maintaining the crypto asset services of the Binance .US platform. The lawsuit further says BAM Trading employees referred to Zhao’s and Bina...