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🪙 FTX collapse

People in the FTX case -- founder, cooperators, judge, estate CEO

Six figures who structure the FTX public record: Bankman-Fried, Ellison, Wang, Singh, Judge Kaplan, and John J. Ray III.

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Quick answers

When did FTX collapse?

Withdrawals failed in the first week of November 2022 after a CoinDesk report on Alameda's balance sheet and a public spat over the FTT token. Chapter 11 petitions were filed on 11 November 2022.

What was Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of?

On 2 November 2023 a Southern District of New York jury convicted him on seven counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers and lenders, and related conspiracy counts (securities, commodities, and money-laundering conspiracies as charged).

What sentence did he receive?

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan imposed 25 years on 28 March 2024, plus forfeiture set out in the judgment. He appealed. The trial-court sentence is the encyclopedia's recorded term unless an appellate court changes it.

Who cooperated?

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh pleaded guilty and cooperated with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Their pleas and testimony were central to the government's case.

What was Alameda Research?

A trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried before FTX and still under his control. Prosecutors and cooperators described it as the entity that used FTX customer assets. Ellison was its CEO at the collapse.

Did customers get money back?

The Delaware bankruptcy estate reported substantial recoveries and a claims process that, in later public updates, pointed toward high nominal recovery on allowed customer claims. That civil result is separate from the criminal conviction.

2022Bahamas / United Statesconvicted

Start with this section - People

2022

The FTX docket is crowded with celebrities and political recipients. The six below are the ones the verdict and the bankruptcy keep in frame.

Roles are taken from the indictment, pleas, the trial transcript, and Delaware filings.

People

Sam Bankman-Fried

Founder; defendant

Founder of Alameda and FTX. Convicted 2 November 2023 on seven counts. Sentenced 28 March 2024 to 25 years. Appealed.

Caroline Ellison

Alameda CEO; cooperator

Pleaded guilty in December 2022. Testified that Alameda used FTX customer assets and that Bankman-Fried directed key decisions. Awaiting sentence after cooperation.

Gary Wang

Co-founder; cooperator

FTX co-founder who pleaded guilty and testified about special Alameda access at the exchange. A technical witness as well as a fact witness.

Nishad Singh

Engineering lead; cooperator

Senior FTX engineer who pleaded guilty in 2023 and described internal systems and knowledge of the hole in customer funds.

Lewis A. Kaplan

U.S. District Judge

Southern District of New York judge who tried the case, ruled on evidence fights, and imposed the 25-year sentence.

John J. Ray III

Bankruptcy CEO

Brought in after Enron-era credentials (he had worked on Enron's estate). Told Congress FTX's controls were exceptionally weak; ran the Chapter 11 recovery.

Changpeng Zhao appears as a November 2022 market actor, not as a U.S. co-defendant in the Bankman-Fried trial. Political donees appear in campaign-finance side files.

Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.

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