--- title: "It Sounds Like Caroline Ellison Has Some Major Dirt on Sam Bankman-Fried" description: "As we get closer to the trial against disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, prosecutors are teasing new evidence from Caroline Ellison." date: "2023-08-16" modified: "2023-08-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/caroline-ellison-dirt-sbf" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" tags: - "caroline ellison" - "ftx" - "sbf" - "the digest" --- # It Sounds Like Caroline Ellison Has Some Major Dirt on Sam Bankman-Fried ![As we get closer to the trial against disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, prosecutors are teasing new evidence from Caroline Ellison.]() *\Image: Michael M. Santiago via Getty / Futurism\* ## Um, Uh As we get closer to the trial against disgraced FTX founder Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, prosecutors are teasing new evidence from the jailed wunderkind's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison that sounds like an important part of the case against him. Quoted in a [recent court filing](), Ellison reportedly told employees of Alameda Research, FTX's sister company, that the company had fraudulently used customer deposits — akin to banks spending the money you deposit into them — on business expenses. "Who made the decision on using user deposits?" asked one employee at the all-hands Alameda meeting, which prosecutors said took place in early November 2022, just as the [exchange was collapsing](). "Um," Ellison replied, "Sam, I guess." It's not a good look for SBF. It does, however, [once again]() place the woman we initially considered little more than the [quirky]() [on-off girlfriend]() to the FTX founder in a more central role in the scandal. ## Freak Out As the court filing notes, federal prosecutors in "US v. Bankman-Fried" also plan to introduce a memo Ellison wrote about her business/romantic partner titled "Things Sam Is Freaking Out About." According to prosecutors, the memo not only tracks FTX's bad press and its effect on Bankman-Fried, but also shows that Ellison was acting under the exchange founder's orders and on his behalf. This is not, as those following this case may remember, the first time Ellison's personal documents have entered court proceedings. The decision to include these documents in Bankman-Fried's upcoming trial comes only after the 30-year-old defendant was remanded to an [infamous New York detention center]() for allegedly tampering with witnesses, which prosecutors accused him of after he [released Ellison's diary entries]() to the *New York Times*. According to his attorneys, SBF "[did nothing wrong]()" when he took Ellison's personal writings to the press, but the judge presiding over his case disagreed and rescinded his bail — though he's still managing to [get his Adderall]() in jail despite the [national shortage](). As far as breakups are concerned, this seems like one from hell. But unlike SBF, at least Ellison isn't having to deal with the tumult from a prison cell. **More on the FTX of it all:** [*FTX Considered Buying an Island to Conduct Human Genetic Experimentation*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()