“I knew it was wrong”

“I’m really sorry for what I did — I knew it was wrong,” Ellison told the US District Court judge. This appears from the transcript of the December 19 hearing. The version was initially kept under wraps until FTX founder Sam Baknman-Fried a few days later They were “released” on $250 million bail. Along with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, Ellison is the most important key figure in the case surrounding the crashing crypto exchange. Both Wang and Ellison pleaded guilty. They also assured authorities that they would cooperate in dealing with the events surrounding FTX.

Ellison told the court that, in collusion with Bankman-Fried, she provided Alameda’s lenders with “materially misleading financial reports.” Court check: “Do you also know that it is illegal?” Ellison replied: “yes.”

The misleading reports, Ellison said, were “quarterly financial statements that obscured Alameda’s borrowing volume and the billions of dollars in loans Alameda has made.” “I have agreed with Mr. Bankman Fried and others not to disclose the true nature of the relationship between Alameda and FTX, including the Alameda loan agreement,” it said.

text was from The New York TimesAnd the Reuters And the bloomberg They are displayed and posted separately.

FTX and Alameda: Suspicion confirmed

Ellison’s comments confirm what many had already feared. Sam Bankman-Fried and his accomplices used FTX clients’ money to fund loans from Alameda Research. “I understood that when Alameda FTX accounts had large negative balances in a particular currency, it meant that Alameda was borrowing money that FTX clients had deposited on the exchange.”

Ellison admitted to the court that he was aware of these events. “I was aware that FTX had to use client money to fund its loans to Alameda.”

Sam Bankman Fried did not comment on these allegations. The 30-year-old is awaiting trial at his parents’ home under FBI surveillance.

How will Ellison’s collaboration affect the potential sentence?