According to unsealed court records, two senior executives connected with the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX have pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges and are cooperating with federal prosecutors.
Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the CEO of the hedge fund Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud for their participation in the fraud scheme that led to the platform's demise.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued civil fraud charges against the pair on Wednesday night.
The Southern District of New York's U.S. attorney, Damian Williams, unsealed the charges in a video address on Wednesday evening. He reaffirmed that the investigation is still ongoing in a brief statement, emphasizing in particular that these latest charges in the case are not the last.
In 2019, Wang and Bankman-Fried co-founded FTX. They also collaborated at Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research. In October 2021, Ellison was appointed CEO of Alameda, according to court documents.
Authorities claim that Bankman-Fried participated in numerous fraudulent schemes. They claim, among other things, that Bankman-Fried invested in other businesses, purchased opulent real estate, and donated tens of millions of dollars to political campaigns while using funds taken from FTX customers to promote Alameda.
Wang has consented to enter a guilty plea on four counts: securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts, including conspiracy to engage in wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
"As I said last week this investigation is very much ongoing and it's moving very quickly," Williams said. "I also said last week's announcement would not be our last and let me be clear, once again, neither is today's."
Ellison and Wang decided to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors in letters dated Sunday, Dec.18, and signed the following day.
Federal authorities also charged Ellison and Wang with being key players in a multi-year plan to swindle FTX investors.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ellison and Wang actively collaborated in a "scheme to defraud" investors. According to regulators, Ellison manipulated the price of FTT, FTX's security token, between 2019 and 2022 "at the direction of" Bankman-Fried. T
The charges were released as Bankman-Fried was on his way to the U.S. from the Bahamas, where he was arrested last week on an eight-count indictment for what Williams described as one of the largest financial frauds in American history.
In the early evening on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried boarded a plane bound for the United States after giving up his right to object to extradition.
