The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced consent orders related to its civil cases against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang.
The orders, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, require Ellison and Wang to continue cooperating with the CFTC and imposed a five-year trading ban on both former executives. Ellison also received a 10-year registration ban, while the commodities regulator imposed an eight-year registration ban on Wang.
“Ellison and Wang were senior executives who committed fraud at Alameda and FTX for which they were found liable,” said the CFTC’s enforcement director, David Miller. “Their sanctions, however, reflect their material assistance in the Commission’s FTX-related investigations.”
The CFTC consent orders resolved the agency’s enforcement actions against Ellison and Wang, named as defendants in the initial December 2022 complaint alongside former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried. The commission ordered FTX and Alameda to pay $12.7 billion in disgorgement and restitution to affected users as part of an August 2024 decision.
Ellison and Wang, along with FTX’s former engineering director Nishad Singh, were indicted on fraud charges and testified against Bankman-Fried at trial related to their roles in misusing customer funds at the now defunct crypto exchange. The former FTX CEO was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years, while Ellison received a two-year sentence and was given early release in January. Singh and Wang were given time served.
Related: Former FTX head of engineering fined $3.7M to resolve CFTC lawsuit
