SBF Trial, Day 5: SBF's Defense Finally Found Its Legs, But Can It Counter Caroline Ellison?
Oct 11, 2023
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Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and SBF's ex-partner, reveals alleged financial mismanagement at Alameda and FTX. Topics discussed include hidden trading of FTT, warnings about inability to pay lenders, risk analysis, and defense arguments. Testimony aimed at preempting defense's argument of Alameda's need to borrow customer funds.
The defense highlighted the importance of properly hedging to prevent greater financial losses.
Caroline Ellison revealed alleged financial mismanagement at Alameda Research, including undisclosed loans and misleading balance sheets.
Deep dives
Ellison testifies, blaming Bankman-Fried for Alameda's usage of FTX customer funds
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), testified in the criminal trial. Ellison and Bankman-Fried seemed to blame each other for Alameda's usage of FTX customer funds to pay debts. Defense lawyer Mark Cohen questioned Gary Wong, co-founder of Alameda and FTX, about the difference between Alameda's total assets and its balance on FTX. Wong revealed that despite Alameda's negative balance on FTX, its net asset value (NAV) was positive, and some lenders were paid back.
Highlights of Bankman-Fried's memo and signal chats discussed in the trial
The defense emphasized Bankman-Fried's memo, which stated that not properly hedging cost more than all of Alameda's earnings. They also mentioned signal chats discussing the possibility of selling short S&P 500 futures and Bankman-Fried's frustration with Alameda for not doing so. Wong stated that he did not know Ellison's decision-making process regarding hedging. Additionally, the defense raised questions about a tweet by Binance CEO, which may have triggered a run on FTX.
Ellison's testimony reveals financial mismanagement and hidden loans
Ellison revealed that Alameda's financial footing was worse than expected when she joined the company. She discovered loans totaling around $5 billion to Bankman-Fried, Wong, and Singh. Ellison herself received a $3.5 million loan, and former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salem received a $35 million loan for Republican donations. She alleged that Bankman-Fried did not disclose Alameda's large line of credit or the inclusion of FTT tokens in the balance sheet, which she believed to be misleading.
Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and SBF's ex-partner, took the stand to reveal the alleged financial mismanagement at Alameda and FTX, which she claimed was at Bankman-Fried’s direction. The cross examination of Gary Wang finally began to show how SBF’s lawyers plan to defend him, though Wang largely appeared to be a yes man who simply trusted and followed his friend and co-founder.
Ellison's revelations included Alameda's hidden trading of FTT to prop up its price, her warnings to SBF about Alameda’s inability to pay back its lenders if he put billions more into venture investments, and his views on risk and “expected value.” For instance, she claimed he said if, with a coin toss came up tails and would mean Earth’s destruction, he would toss the coin if there it was twice as likely that it would more than double prosperity on Earth. However, her testimony seemed designed to preemptively rebut the defense’s potential argument that Alameda needed to borrow customer funds because she had not hedged.