Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison left Danbury prison after serving only 11 months due to cooperation and good behavior, entering the community supervision phase. (Background: SBF prison greetings sparked a huge wave: After six months, issued 'gm', FTT surged 45%) (Context: Three Arrows Capital (3AC) subpoenaed SBF and other FTX executives: accused of illegal liquidation of $1.5 billion positions) Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who played a key role in the FTX group, quietly left Connecticut's FCI Danbury on October 16, 2025, and transitioned into the 'community supervision' system. This means she is no longer inside the walls but is receiving supervision from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in a transitional rehabilitation center or home confinement environment. Ellison was originally sentenced to 24 months in prison but actually spent about 11 months in custody; BOP's latest records show her final release date has been updated to February 20, 2026, nearly 9 months earlier than initially expected. Why was her sentence reduced? On September 24, 2024, the Southern District of New York court sentenced Ellison to 2 years in prison for 'extraordinary cooperation'; she reported to Danbury prison on November 7 of that year. Business Insider reported that her transfer in October 2025 was partly because she provided key testimony in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), which prosecutors viewed as 'turning state's evidence'; on the other hand, according to the First Step Act and BOP's established procedures, low-risk, non-violent inmates who complete rehabilitation programs can reduce their sentences through 'good behavior hours' and related programs. These deductions allowed her to enter community supervision early. A stark contrast to SBF's fate Although she has left the iron bars, Ellison must still comply with curfews, regular check-ins, and random drug tests; any violations could result in immediate return to prison. In contrast, FTX founder SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 28, 2024, for serious fraud charges, highlighting a stark contrast in their fates. Related reading: SBF's sentence reduced to 2044, three major reasons for sentence reduction revealed, ex-girlfriend Caroline expected to be released next year SBF's legal team appeals for retrial Earlier reports indicated that SBF's legal team submitted a 15-page appeal to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in early November, requesting the court to overturn the previous judgment against SBF and retry the case. SBF's defense attorney claimed that presiding judge Lewis Kaplan restricted a large amount of financial data favorable to SBF, preventing the jury from seeing the true asset status of FTX. SBF also released documents through the X platform at the end of October (FTX: Where Did the Money Go?), listing the following claims that they could fully meet customer withdrawal demands: 'FTX and Alameda Research held approximately $25 billion in assets and $16 billion in equity, which could fully cover the $8 billion withdrawal demand. The platform was never insolvent.' The legal team pointed out that if the relevant forms and on-chain wallet addresses had been presented in full at that time, the jury's understanding of the case could have been drastically different. Additionally, they questioned the judge for holding an unusual preview hearing before the trial and limiting the defense's rights to obtain internal emails and transaction records. Furthermore, SBF in the appeal also strongly criticized FTX's bankruptcy takeover team. His criticism targeted legal advisors Sullivan & Cromwell and current CEO John Ray III, alleging that both parties received nearly a billion dollars in consulting fees and handled FTX's quality assets at low prices, harming the interests of customers and creditors. Prosecution stance and difficulty of overturning the case Can SBF overturn the case? It is generally believed that the difficulty is quite high. First, the prosecution's stance: authorities had previously pointed out that SBF not only misappropriated customer funds to subsidize his hedge fund but also concealed the true asset status in regulatory documents. Secondly, court records also show that former COO Gary Wang and former CEO Caroline Ellison both testified that SBF was fully aware that he was misappropriating customer funds. Finally, the appellate court's responsibility is not to restart fact-finding but to review whether there were legal errors. Therefore, legal scholars generally believe that the defense must prove that the trial process reached a level of 'extreme unfairness'; otherwise, the threshold for overturning the case will be quite high. Related reports FTX pays back! Third round of repayment distribution starting on September 30! A total of $1.6 billion When FTX's Chinese creditors were discriminated against, how to retrieve $380 million? 'Alameda Research former CEO Caroline served only 11 months and left prison, transitioning to community supervision' This article was first published in BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).

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