In a recent development, Caroline Ellison has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud at FTX. During her time awaiting trial, she penned a Bridgerton-style romance novel, as revealed by her mother Sara Fisher Ellison in a letter pleading leniency from the sentencing judge. The 29-year-old Stanford alumna is known for her tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Her mother’s letter highlights that Ellison has also written a charming novella set in Edwardian England and inspired by her sister Kate’s amorous escapades, to Kate’s delight. Moreover, she is working on another novel, which remains unseen. Since the sentencing, Ellison has been focusing on volunteering as an English as a second language teacher and contributing to a statistics textbook being written by her father and colleagues.
Despite pleading guilty to fraud and cooperating with federal prosecutors, Ellison’s cooperation was not enough to save her from prison. Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that a prison sentence was necessary due to her involvement in the “greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country and probably anywhere else.” The judge acknowledged Ellison’s genuine remorse but emphasized that she could not be granted a “get out of jail free card.
Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, was heavily criticized by Kaplan for his part in the fraud. On November 7th, Ellison will begin her two-year prison sentence.
