- Caroline Ellison appeared to have difficulty identifying her ex-boyfriend in court on Tuesday.
- Ellison spent around half a minute trying to pick out Bankman-Fried, multiple outlets reported.
- Bankman-Fried sported a haircut and suit – ditching his signature shaggy hair and cargo shorts.
Caroline Ellison appeared to have difficulty identifying her ex-boyfriend in court on Tuesday.
When Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, took the stand and was asked by the prosecution to pick out Sam Bankman-Fried in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, she looked around for around 30 seconds before pointing out her ex-boyfriend, multiple news outlets reported. She turned her head to look around the room multiple times before she identified Bankman-Fried as “over there and wearing a suit,” according to CNBC.
The FTX cofounder might have looked a bit different to Ellison. For the trial, Bankman-Fried abandoned his signature cargo shorts and unruly hair in favor of a suit and a shorter hair cut. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Bankman-Fried’s hair was cut by a fellow prisoner at the Brooklyn federal jail where he is currently being detained.
For his part, Bankman-Fried “stayed low in his chair and stiller than usual” as he waited for Ellison to identify him, CoinDesk reported. The publication said Bankman-Fried’s parents even appeared to let out a “chuckle” when Ellison pointed out their son after several seconds of scanning the court room. (It’s not the first time one of his parents have let out a laugh during legal proceedings — Bankman-Fried’s mother reportedly laughed when her son was called a “fugitive” during a Bahamas court hearing after his arrest.)
Ellison has likely not seen Bankman-Fried in person for many months. She told jurors on Tuesday that the pair severed their on-and-off again relationship in the spring of 2022. Later that year after FTX collapsed, Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud charges and began cooperating with investigators.
The ex-Alameda Research CEO is continuing her testimony on Wednesday. On Tuesday, she told jurors that she worked with Bankman-Fried and other members of his inner circle to defraud the customers and investors of FTX out of billions of dollars.
The FTX cofounder is facing seven criminal charges of fraud. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty on all counts, but prosecutors allege he stole billions of dollars from customers and investors in his cryptocurrency exchange, and commingled funds between FTX and its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research.
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