Sam Bankman-Fried thought he had 5% chance of becoming president, ex-girlfriend says

Disgraced crypto govt Sam Bankman-Fried thought there was once a “5% chance he would become president,” his ex-girlfriend testified Tuesday at his federal felony trial.

Caroline Ellison, one of the federal government’s big name witnesses, mentioned she and the 31-year-old Bankman-Fried “started sleeping together on and off” in 2018 and dated in next years.

During their courting, Ellison mentioned Bankman-Fried would describe his trade, and political, ambitions.

Ellison additionally testified she dedicated crimes with Bankman-Fried. She pleaded responsible and is attesting pursuant to a cooperation settlement with federal prosecutors in New York, who’ve accused him, amongst different issues, of illegally the usage of FTX buyer and investor cash to hide speculative investments by way of his privately managed hedge fund Alameda Research.

“He said that FTX would be a good source of capital and he set up the system that allowed Alameda to borrow from FTX,” Ellison mentioned.

In the summer season of 2021, Ellison become co-chief govt of Alameda Research, feeling “not particularly” supplied for the activity, she testified Tuesday.

For large choices, “I would always ultimately defer to Sam,” as a result of he owned the corporate and set her repayment.

Bankman-Fried sought after to place far between himself and Alameda as a result of some FTX shoppers expressed fear FTX and Alameda’s courting was once too shut, Ellison mentioned.

At the time, the 2 had been “on a break” from their courting courting, which she mentioned resumed a couple of months later. The romantic courting resulted in 2022.

“I felt like he wasn’t paying much attention to me or spending much time with me in the relationship,” Ellison mentioned.

As co-CEO, Ellison made an annual wage of $200,000 with bonuses two times a yr starting from $100,000 to $20 million. She was once by no means given an fairness stake in Alameda in spite of requesting it, she mentioned.

Asked if FTX shoppers had been informed how their cash was once being put to make use of, Ellison replied, “Not to my knowledge.”

She estimated $10 billion to $20 billion in FTX cash was once transferred to Alameda.

“I was somewhat concerned because a lot of these loans seemed to be going to illiquid things,” Ellison testified, including Bankman-Fried directed all lending and making an investment methods.

Ellison mentioned Bankman-Fried extensively utilized buyer cash to make political donations as a result of he believed he would reap “very high returns in terms of influence” for reasonably small quantities of cash. She cited a $10 million donation to President Joe Biden that Bankman-Fried believed would convey “influence and recognition.”

FTX advertised itself as a protected, dependable cryptocurrency trade, however Ellison testified it was once now not as a result of moving all that cash to Alameda “meant those assets were at risk.”

Bankman-Fried has pleaded now not responsible to all counts. If convicted, he may just face a sentence of as much as 110 years in jail.

In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in November 2022, Bankman-Fried denied realizing “there was any improper use of customer funds.”

“I really deeply wish that I had taken like a lot more responsibility for understanding what the details were of what was going on there,” Bankman-Fried mentioned on the time. “A lot of people got hurt, and that’s on me.”

FTX advertised itself as a protected, dependable cryptocurrency trade, however Ellison testified it was once now not as a result of moving all that cash to Alameda “meant those assets were at risk.”

ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this document.