Key Takeaways
Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang each received a five-year trading ban under consent orders filed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.
Ellison also drew a 10-year registration ban and Wang an eight-year ban. Neither faces a fine, restitution or disgorgement.
The orders close the CFTC action filed in December 2022 alongside its case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has closed its civil cases against former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Zixiao "Gary" Wang, nearly four years after filing them. Consent orders lodged Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York impose five-year trading bans on both and require continued cooperation with the agency.
Ellison received a 10-year registration ban. Wang received eight years. The commission sought no civil penalty, no restitution and no return of profits.
Why the Regulator Walked Away From the Money
The agency tied the leniency directly to what the two did after the collapse. CFTC enforcement director David Miller said the sanctions reflect "their material assistance in the Commission's FTX-related investigations," while noting both were senior executives who committed fraud at Alameda and FTX and were found liable for it.
There is also not much left to collect. Ellison and Wang already owe an $11.02 billion forfeiture from their criminal cases, and FTX and Alameda were ordered in August 2024 to pay $12.7 billion in disgorgement and restitution to affected users. A fine on top of that would have been symbolic.
The Sentencing Gap Is the Story
Ellison, Wang and former engineering director Nishad Singh were all indicted, all cooperated, and all testified against Bankman-Fried at trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Ellison served two years and was granted early release in January. Wang and Singh received time served, and Cointelegraph reported Singh resolved his own CFTC matter with a $3.7 million penalty.
Cooperation was worth something concrete here, and the ledger is now closed on the civil side. That lands into an unresolved political fight WYDE has covered, from the Senate's unanimous resolution against any pardon for Bankman-Fried to senators pressing the attorney general nominee on crypto enforcement and the Binance pardon. The regulators are finishing. The pardon question is not.
People Also Ask
What did the CFTC order against Caroline Ellison say?
A five-year trading ban, a 10-year registration ban, continued cooperation, and no monetary penalty.
Did Gary Wang have to pay a fine?
No. Wang received a five-year trading ban and an eight-year registration ban with no civil penalty or disgorgement.
Why did the CFTC not seek money?
The agency cited their cooperation in its FTX investigations. Both also owe an $11.02 billion forfeiture from their criminal cases.
Is Caroline Ellison still in prison?
No. She was sentenced to two years and granted early release in January 2026.