The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has resolved its civil enforcement cases against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. A federal court imposed multi-year trading and registration bans, but the two executives avoided monetary penalties due to their extensive cooperation in investigations related to the collapse of FTX. The bans are retroactive to December 2022. Both individuals remain subject to an $11.02 billion forfeiture order from related federal criminal proceedings, in which they pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges involving the misuse of billions of dollars in FTX customer funds.
The CFTC resolved its civil enforcement cases against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang on Aug. 19, 2026. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered supplemental consent orders imposing multi-year trading and registration bans.
Ellison received a five-year trading ban and a 10-year registration ban. Wang received a five-year trading ban and an eight-year registration ban. The bans run from Dec. 23, 2022, when the initial consent orders were entered.
Both defendants must continue cooperating with the CFTC in its investigation and related proceedings. Under the 2022 orders, Ellison was found guilty of two counts of fraud, and Wang was found guilty of one count. Both are permanently prohibited from violating the antifraud provisions of federal commodities law.
The CFTC did not demand restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties from either party. This decision was based “on the extent of cooperation from the defendants” and the financial impact of related federal criminal proceedings, according to the CFTC’s Enforcement Director David I. Miller.
Both executives pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in December 2022, admitting to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. The criminal proceedings included an $11.02 billion forfeiture order, for which Ellison and Wang were held jointly and severally liable.
The CFTC’s amended complaint alleged that FTX customer funds were regularly stored by Alameda and blended into company funds. Billions of dollars in customer funds were misused by Alameda and its executives. Wang was also accused of helping develop code that gave Alameda preferential treatment, including a virtually unlimited line of credit. Ellison was accused of ordering Alameda to misuse billions of dollars belonging to FTX for trading and digital asset investments. These supplemental orders now settle the civil suits against the two former executives.
