With the crypto-fraud trial against Sam Bankman-Fried underway let’s take a look at the latest developments in the blockbuster trial. This week SBF ‘s former girlfriend and close associate Caroline Ellison testified in the federal trial against him.
This week the huge trial against fallen crypto-king Sam Bankman-Fried took a dramatic turn. On Friday, Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend and right-hand woman Caroline Ellison offered up stunning testimony against the fraudster that further implicates his role in the huge financial scam.
5 takeaways from Ellison ‘s string of testimonies so far in the case.
- Bankman-Fried allegedly intentionally curated his ‘messy boy’ image
Known for his less than flashy clothing choices and long messy hair, SBF reportedly believed that the look was part of the company ‘s aesthetic as a whole. In one instance, Ellison testified that he believed his messy hair often earned him more money than his counterparts.
2. Ellison later alleged in her testimony that it was SBF ‘s idea to kick off the root of the scam which was to funnel money from FTX into Alameda Research and not tell anyone about it.
In a separate part of her testimony, Ellison testified this week that SBF was the mastermind behind the origins of the plan. The same plan which he later used to instruct Ellison to attempt to use FTX funds to pay off the company’s bills and lenders even though the money belonged to customers.
3. Sometime in 2022 after a disagreement over how to hedge the company’s funds, Ellison testified that SBF grew angry with her and ultimately began blaming her for the company’s then growing financial woes.
The testimony was as follows:
“We initially started by talking about Alameda’s balance sheet, and then Sam started saying that he thought Alameda should have hedged way more earlier in the year and that it was a big mistake and that it was my fault and that I was largely responsible for the financial situation that Alameda had ended up in,” Ellison told jurors. “He was speaking pretty loudly and strongly … I got very upset, I started crying, and I had trouble continuing the conversation.”
4. His ‘utilitarian’ views and beliefs ultimately helped play a role in his downfall Ellison said during the last leg of the testimony this week.
In another part of the testimony, Ellison told the court of how SBF held ‘utilitarian’ views that ultimately pretty much helped bring about his downfall. Ellison also told the court of how despite these beliefs there was a ‘much darker’ side to SBF than he had long lead on. That dark side allegedly believed ‘it was okay’ to commit various forms of fraud.
5. Ellison also admitted that dating her boss probably wasn’t the best of ideas.
“The whole time that we were dating he was also my boss at work, which created some awkward situations,” Ellison testified. “I would say in our personal relationship there was a general theme that I sort of wanted more from our relationship but often felt like he was distant or not paying attention to me.”
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