Two former executives of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto-focused companies, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of FTX.
What Happened: This comes as Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas last week and has been extradited to the U.S. to answer to the various charges he faces.
“I am truly sorry for what I did,” Ellison said in court, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a transcript of the hearing. “I knew that it was wrong.”
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The guilty pleas and cooperation agreements in the fraud case against Bankman-Fried is a major advance in his prosecution after the accused agreed to be extradited on Wednesday, the New York Times reported, citing U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Ellison, 28, was the chief executive of Alameda Research. Wang was a co-founder of FTX.
Why It Matters: Bankman-Fried faces multiple charges for the multiyear fraud scheme that saw billions of dollars in customer funds diverted for his own use, including real estate acquisitions in the Bahamas, cryptocurrency trading at Alameda and political donations, among other things.
Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried utilized complex methods to defraud customers, investors and lenders connected to his erstwhile crypto trading firm, which recently declared bankruptcy after its collapse last month.
Price Action: At the time of writing, FTX FTT/USD was trading at $0.865, down 7.80% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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