Caroline Ellison worried SBF breakups would ‘cause drama,’ said they made work at Alameda ‘painful’ in private writings: report
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s on-again, off-again polyamorous gal pal Caroline Ellison worried about “causing drama” over their multiple breakups, she reportedly confessed in private writings.
The former Alameda Research CEO, who is set to be a key witness when Bankman-Fried faces trial this fall for allegedly bilking FTX customers out of billions of dollars, detailed her unhappiness and discomfort with their relationship before the firm imploded last November in a series of Google documents, according to the New York Times, which has viewed the posts.
In one entry from February 2022, Ellison, now 28, wrote that the star-crossed lovers were at risk of “making things weird” and “causing drama” at the company, worrying “it doesn’t really feel like there’s an end in sight,” the Times reported.
In another post addressed addressed to Bankman-Fried in April 2022, Ellison wrote that an earlier breakup with him had “significantly decreased my excitement about Alameda.”
The Stanford grad, who was plucked by Bankman-Fried to run FTX’s sister company Alameda, added she “felt too associated with you in a way that was painful.”
The publication of her private writings infuriated federal prosecutors, who accused Bankman-Fried of witness tampering and asked a judge to issue an order that would bar the former billionaire and other parties from making public statements likely to interfere with a fair trial.
Prosecutors said it was apparent Bankman-Fried shared documents with the Times and that his lawyers have since confirmed to the government that he met with one of the article’s authors in person and shared documents “that were not part of the government’s discovery material.”
Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson and lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The New York Times declined to comment, and Ellison’s lawyers did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The prosecutors argued that by sharing these documents, Bankman-Fried was trying to malign Ellison’s credibility, and that such conduct could chill witnesses from testifying and taint the jury pool.
The previously unreported personal writings, including Ellison’s handwritten diary, have circulated among lawyers involved in the case, the Times had reported.
In her writings, Ellison expressed doubt about her own leadership abilities at the helm of Alameda – listing “leadership and “decisiveness” as traits she needed to improve.
“Running Alameda doesn’t feel like something I’m that comparatively advantaged at or well suited to do,” Ellison wrote in the April 2022 document.
Her various other posts, especially on social media, have faced intense scrutiny since FTX and Alameda entered the global spotlight last year.
As The Post reported, Ellison raised eyebrows by tweeting about her “regular amphetamine use” in 2021.
Ellison’s personal Tumblr blog, which included graphic references to polyamory, was also picked apart by the public as FTX collapsed.
Ellison pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in December, telling a court that she was “truly sorry” for her actions. She and at least two other former FTX executives, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, are cooperating with authorities in the case.
Her testimony is expected to be critical to convicting Bankman-Fried, given the central role Alameda played. Bankman-Fried and a group of close associates are accused of misappropriating FTX customer funds to cover losses from risky bets at the cryptocurrency hedge fund and to bankroll a lavish lifestyle that included extravagant property purchases in the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried, who is currently under house arrest, has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the array of charges. His trial starts Oct. 4.
