The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to permanently close the door on the careers of three former crypto wunderkinds. In proposed final consent judgments filed Friday in the Southern District of New York, the regulator outlined strict settlement agreements for Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh—the trio of lieutenants whose testimony was instrumental in sending their former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, to prison for 25 years.
Under the terms of the deal, which awaits a judge’s final signature, the group will be barred from serving as officers or directors of publicly traded companies for up to a decade. The move represents the regulatory “cleanup” phase of the FTX saga, ensuring that while these individuals may have avoided the harshest criminal penalties through cooperation, they will not be allowed to pilot a public company anytime soon.
The “Cooperator’s Ban”
While all three executives played pivotal roles in the government’s case, the SEC’s settlements differentiate based on culpability. Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and the face of the trading firm’s risky gambles, agreed to the steepest penalty: a 10-year ban from serving in corporate leadership positions for any public company.
Gary Wang, co-founder and former CTO of FTX, and Nishad Singh, the former Head of Engineering, both agreed to eight-year officer-and-director bars.
In addition to the leadership bans, the settlements include conduct-based injunctions. Without admitting or denying the Commission’s allegations, the trio agreed to be permanently enjoined from future violations of securities laws. Crucially, Ellison’s agreement specifically prohibits her from engaging in securities transactions, with narrow exceptions for managing her own personal accounts.
Ellison’s Quiet Exit
The regulatory news comes during a week of personal transition for Ellison. The former Alameda CEO was released from federal prison this week after serving approximately 11 months of her two-year sentence.
Ellison had reported to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, earlier this year. Her early release—serving less than half of her original sentence—highlights the significant credit she received for her “extraordinary” cooperation. During Bankman-Fried’s trial, her testimony provided the “smoking gun” evidence detailing how Alameda siphoned billions in customer funds to plug its own financial holes. While she faced a statutory maximum of 110 years for wire fraud and money laundering, her plea deal and subsequent testimony spared her a life behind bars.
Wang and Singh: Freedom with Strings
For Wang and Singh, the SEC settlement is the final act in a legal drama that saw them avoid prison entirely. Both men were sentenced to “time served” and three years of supervised release last year.
At their sentencing hearings, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan praised their decision to turn on Bankman-Fried early. “You did the right thing,” Kaplan told them, noting that their technical knowledge was essential to untangling the complex code that allowed FTX to misappropriate assets. John J. Ray III, the bankruptcy CEO who was charged with recovering funds from victims, went against all previous norms by asking for mercy for Singh because he had helped recover a huge number of assets for creditors.
The Shadow of SBF
Although his associates are looking for a life away from the spotlight, the only member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to endure the full punishment from the legal authorities is Bankman-Fried himself. The disgraced founder is currently serving a 25-year sentence after being found guilty of stealing at least $8 billion from customers to fund a lavish lifestyle of luxury real estate, venture bets, and political donations.
Bankman-Fried continues to maintain his innocence from his prison cell. In October, his social media account released a 14-page document reiterating his long-standing claim that FTX was never truly insolvent—a narrative that both the courts and his former colleagues have thoroughly rejected.
Closing the Book
The SEC’s settlements effectively end the regulatory war against the individuals responsible for one of the largest financial frauds in American history. By barring them from the boardroom, the agency is sending a message that cooperation may buy freedom, but it does not buy a second chance at managing public money.
Wang, Singh and Ellison, now that they have escaped going to prison, face the new challenge of navigating their lives with the stigma of helping to build a $32 billion empire that has collasped so badly.
