Twitter has been buzzing with a recent image of a woman who appears to be former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison in a Manhattan coffee shop.
In the wake of the collapse of the FTX and Alameda, Ellison's last rumored location was Hong Kong. According to reports, she was attempting to flee to Dubai at the time.
Although the plan was allegedly created on the assumption that the U.S. and the UAE "doesn't have any extradition treaties," the two countries already signed a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) back on February 24, 2022, to cooperate in the fight against criminals.
Two images that appeared to show Ellison ordering a coffee at the Ground Support Cafe in Manhattan started circulating on Twitter on Dec. 4.
Gopher, the Golden Doodle puppy owned by FTX and Alameda executives, appears to be in the photo next to Ellison, lending credence to the likely sighting.
Autism Capital, a self-described "citizen journalist" on Twitter, appears to be the first to share the photos, which were handed in by an unnamed user.
"A user claims that they spotted Caroline Ellison at Ground Support Coffee on West Broad in SoHo Manhattan at 8:15 AM [UTC]. This would mean she is not in Hong Kong and is in NY not in custody," they wrote.
In response, a man going under the handle Daniel Mentado (@dmentado), claiming to work at the cafe, "confirmed" that it was Ellison and that one of his employees had served her.
Given the potential legal repercussions, some people find it surprising that Ellison is in the U.S., while others theorize that he might be trying to work out a settlement with the authorities.
Some have noted that the FBI office in New York and the U.S. Attorney's office are both close to the in-question coffee shop.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of FTX, has been portraying his side of the story in the public while denying any intentional wrongdoing and blaming Alameda's leadership for the incident.
Notably, a few hours after the alleged Ellison sighting, Bankman-Fried tweeted that he intends to appear at a House Committee on Financial Services hearing at some point, but not until he has "finished learning and reviewing what happened."
However, it is important to note that there is no 100% clear confirmation that this Ellison in the photo is her. Some members of the crypto community have even sought to obtain answers in person, with no luck.
