CFTC bans Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang from trading for five years

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has resolved its civil cases against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. The federal court orders impose five-year trading bans alongside a 10-year registration ban for Ellison and an eight-year registration ban for Wang. While their extensive cooperation in the FTX investigations spared them from new civil fines, both executives remain jointly liable for an $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order.

CFTC trading bans

• ▪The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed a five-year trading ban on former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang.
• ▪The supplemental consent orders against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 19, 2026, require both to continue cooperating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
• ▪The five-year trading bans for Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang are backdated to their original consent orders from December 23, 2022, and are expected to end in late 2027.

Registration ban durations

• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed an eight-year registration ban on Gary Wang.
• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed a 10-year registration ban on Caroline Ellison.

Criminal forfeiture liability

• ▪Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang remain jointly and severally liable for an $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order linked to their fraud convictions.
• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission previously secured a separate $12.7 billion judgment against FTX and Alameda Research in August 2024, which included $8.7 billion in restitution and $4 billion in disgorgement.

FTX fraud convictions

• ▪Caroline Ellison received a two-year prison sentence and was released in January 2026, while Gary Wang and Nishad Singh received sentences of time served.
• ▪Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh were indicted on fraud charges and testified against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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