- A user on Twitter called Autism Capital posted two photos of a woman in an NYC cafe. The user alleged that it was former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison.
- Another Twitter user who claims he’s the manager of the cafe confirmed that it was indeed Ellison.
- Crypto Twitter speculates that Ellison came back from Hong Kong to the U.S. to throw Sam Bankman-Fried under the bus.
- None of the claims have been independently verified.
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has been allegedly spotted in New York City, according to a post on Twitter.
Twitter user Autism Capital posted two photos of a woman who resembles Ellison. The photos were taken at Ground Support Coffee in Manhattan on Sunday.
Another Twitter user, Daniel Mentado, confirmed that he saw Ellison at the cafe. He claimed that he was the manager of the cafe and that the person behind the counter was his staff member.
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None of these claims have been independently verified.
In response to the published photos, the crypto community was quick to come up with theories as to why Ellison might be in NYC.
A user called Wall Street Silver speculated that Ellison could be back in the United States only because “her lawyer has an immunity deal or a plea to one charge with the minimum sentence.”
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Cobie, a popular crypto influencer on Twitter, posted a Google Maps picture. It intriguingly shows the short distance between Ground Support Coffee and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Many on Crypto Twitter believe that Ellison, rumored to have had a romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried in the past, is about to throw him under the bus. This might be increasingly believable since Bankman-Fried has recently been on a media tour. He has been offering his version of what happened, which places Alameda at the center of the debacle.
In particular, Bankman-Fried keeps repeating that in the early days of FTX, customers were sending their deposits to Alameda Research instead of FTX. This was because banks were more willing to work with something that had the word “research” in its name than an obscure crypto exchange. This resulted in double counting funds and a balance sheet discrepancy. Bankman-Fried claims that he was unaware of how big the discrepancy became over time.
Ellison was also reported to tell her staff at Alameda just days after the blowup of FTX that Bankman-Fried and other executives were aware that FTX was funneling customer funds to Alameda. It did so to cover its losses related to the Terra Luna implosion.
On the Flipside
- While the woman in the photo appears to be Ellison, it’s unknown whether it was indeed her.
- The date the photos were taken hasn’t been confirmed.
Why You Should Care
The FTX debacle keeps getting worse. If the speculation is true and Ellisson is indeed in NYC to throw Bankman-Fried under the bus, the former FTX CEO might be looking at criminal charges.
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