Caroline Ellison and Ryan Salame, who have been accused in the FTX collapse have received a reduction in their prison sentence for being cooperative with the authorities. This move by the authorities has raised questions within the community.
Former FTX execs Salame, Ellison get sentence reductions https://t.co/FWMcWupAEn
— Tech in Asia (@techinasia) December 27, 2024
Caroline Ellison’s Sentence Reduction
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced for two years in the prison but her sentence has been reduced by three months, setting her new release date to July 20, 2026. This reduction indicates that the accused was well-behaved and cooperative with the prosecutors, and apparently has provided a detailed testimony against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ryan Salame’s Sentence Reduction
Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, was sentenced for seven and a half years in prison as he was accused for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and making illegal campaign contributions. His sentence now has been reduced by an year. The original release date for Salame was April 1, 2032 but now the new release date is March 1, 2031. Salame has supposedly provided valuable documents to the prosecutors that would help them investigate the case better.
Public Reaction
The community is upset about the reduced prison time for Ellison and Salame. According to them, the punishment do not justify the loss investors suffered because of the fraud. Some worry that this will set a bad example as this move makes it look like the wealthy executives can get away with serious crimes by cooperating with the authorities.
On-going Legal Proceedings for the FTX Collapse
While Ellison and Salame have received reduced sentences, other former FTX executives which include Nishad Sign and Gary Wang are still under scrutiny. They are also being cooperative with the authorities and are awaiting sentencing. Sam Bankman-Fried, Founder of FTX has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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