Is Caroline Ellison related to Larry Ellison? Family explored as Sam Bankman-Fried's ex is arrested in FTX fraud case

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s rumored ex, was recently arrested along with FTX cofounder Gary Wang.

US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, confirmed that Ellison and Wang both pled guilty to fraud charges. Additionally, they have also agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors for the ongoing investigation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement saying that Ellison and Wang have been charged with “a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX.” The regulator claimed that Ellison allegedly manipulated the price of FTT at the direction of Bankman-Fried.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also confirmed that it has charged Ellison and Wang with alleged fraud. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas earlier this month and charged with offences like wire fraud, money laundering, commodities fraud, securities fraud and campaign finance law violations.

The FTX CEO was in FBI custody and is currently set to be extradited to the United States. He can face up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts and can face up to 110 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

The latest update comes after Ellison’s parents told The New York Post that they are “busy” and refused to comment on the FTX scandal and their daughter’s arrest.

Caroline Ellison is the daughter of MIT economists Sara Fischer and Glenn Ellison. However, she is not related to billionaire business magnate and former CEO of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison.

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A look into Caroline Ellison’s family and background

Caroline Ellison is the daughter of economists Sara Fisher and Glenn Ellison (Image via Getty Images)

Caroline Ellison is the daughter of American economists Sara Fisher and Glenn Ellison. Her father is Gregory K. Palm (1970) Professor of Economics at MIT similar to her mother, who is also an economist at MIT.

Ellison grew up in the suburbs of Boston and attended Newton North High School. She represented the US in the 2011 International Linguistics Olympiad and earned a National Merit Scholarship in 2012.

Her father reportedly coached her math team when she was in middle school. Ellison graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 2016.

During her time at the university, she consistently scored in the top 500 students at the Putnam Competitions in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively.

Following her graduation, Ellison started working for Jane Street and reportedly met Sam Bankman-Fried at the quantitative trading firm. She joined Alameda Research in March 2018 and became co-CEO of the firm in 2021, ultimately becoming the CEO in August 2022 after Sam Trabucco stepped down from the role.

Caroline Ellison came under scrutiny after CoinDesk questioned Alameda Research’s relationship with FTX and its balance sheet. She faced further legal troubles after Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest and accepted a plea bargain on December 18.

Reports suggest that she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, wire fraud on lenders of Alameda Research, commodities fraud, securities fraud and to commit money laundering.

Ellison was terminated from her position by John J. Ray III following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by FTX, Alameda Research, and more than 100 related companies.

The New York Post reported that Ellison’s parents Sara and Glenn were seen leaving their Massachusetts home earlier this month. The couple allegedly looked disheveled drove off in their Hyundai Kona.