CFTC Closes FTX Cases Against Caroline Ellison And Gary Wang With Five-Year Trading Bans

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has closed its civil enforcement cases against former FTX insiders Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, imposing five-year trading bans while declining to seek additional monetary penalties after years of cooperation with investigators.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered supplemental consent orders against Ellison and Wang on August 18. Ellison also received a 10-year CFTC registration ban, while Wang was barred from registration for eight years. Both must continue cooperating with the regulator.

Cooperation Shapes Final CFTC Sanctions

The trading and registration restrictions run from December 23, 2022, when the court entered the original consent orders finding Ellison and Wang liable for violations tied to the FTX fraud.

Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was found liable on two CFTC fraud counts. Wang, an FTX co-founder and former chief technology officer, was found liable on one fraud count. Both were permanently enjoined from violating the Commodity Exchange Act antifraud provisions charged in the case.

The CFTC is not seeking restitution, disgorgement or civil monetary penalties through the new orders. The agency cited their substantial assistance in its FTX investigations and parallel criminal proceedings, as well as an $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order for which they were jointly and severally liable.

The outcome follows a similar resolution for former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh, who received a five-year trading ban and eight-year registration ban in April while being ordered to disgorge $3.7 million.

Ellison And Wang Helped Build Case Against Bankman-Fried

Ellison and Wang pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in December 2022 and became central cooperating witnesses against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Wang testified about software privileges that allowed Alameda to access FTX customer funds, while Ellison described the trading firm’s use of customer assets and Bankman-Fried’s role in directing the operation. Their cooperation helped prosecutors secure the conviction that ultimately produced Bankman-Fried’s 25-year prison sentence.

Ellison received a two-year prison sentence in September 2024. She spent roughly 11 months in prison before moving to community confinement and was released from federal custody in January 2026 after about 14 months. Wang received a time-served sentence in November 2024 after prosecutors credited his extensive cooperation.

The CFTC restrictions arrive after the SEC also moved to finalize civil judgments against Ellison, Wang and Singh, including a 10-year officer-and-director bar for Ellison and eight-year bars for Wang and Singh.

FTX Enforcement Winds Down As Creditors Recover Funds

The individual cases are closing while the financial cleanup from FTX continues. The CFTC previously obtained a $12.7 billion judgment against FTX and Alameda, consisting of $8.7 billion in restitution and $4 billion in disgorgement designated for victims.

FTX’s bankruptcy estate has simultaneously moved deeper into distributions, with another creditor payout round scheduled for July 31 as recovered assets continue flowing back to allowed claimants.

Bankman-Fried’s criminal judgment remains intact after the Second Circuit upheld his conviction and 25-year sentence in June.

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For Ellison and Wang, the August supplemental orders resolve the CFTC’s remaining enforcement actions against them while leaving their continuing cooperation obligations in place.