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Caroline Ellison, a former close associate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, called the final days of the crypto exchange the “worst week of my life,” tearfully telling a federal jury Wednesday that she had dreaded the public learning of the lies she told to cover up the theft of billions of dollars.
Ellison, the former chief executive of FTX’s sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, was testifying for a second day in Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. She spent much of the time detailing how she worked with Bankman-Fried to secretly siphon funds from the exchange’s customers to cover Alameda’s risky investments and pay back loans. She also lied to lenders to mask Alameda’s precarious finances, she said.
In early November, a news report about a leaked Alameda balance sheet sparked a run on customer funds at FTX. The exchange could cover only a fraction of the withdrawals, Ellison said, ultimately leading to FTX filing for bankruptcy protection.