It looks like Caroline Ellison has emerged from stealth mode.
A nonprofit CEO announced Friday that he secretly gave a job to Ellison — who went to prison in connection with fraud by Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange.
Austin Chen, the founder of Manifund, a grantmaker tied to the effective altruism movement, wrote on Substack that Ellison, 31, will develop its platform and research “how to effectively direct philanthropic dollars.”
In the post, Chen framed the hiring as a second chance for Ellison.
“I believe in redemption,” he wrote. “Caroline has admitted her faults, worked to make creditors whole, and served her time in prison. I’d like to give her the opportunity to contribute back to the world; I hope that the world will concur.”
Manifund began as a charitable side project of Manifold Markets, a prediction market company cofounded by Chen. Manifold was previously backed by FTX Future Fund, a philanthropic initiative, which Chen noted in the blog.
Chen confirmed the news in a brief text message to Business Insider. He did not provide documentation of Ellison’s new role. Ellison could not be reached for comment.
The blog contained a message in Ellison’s name.
“I’m deeply sorry for what I did, and I completely understand why people may not want to work with me,” it said. “But I’m very grateful to Austin for giving me a second chance, and judging me on my current work performance rather than my past. I feel very lucky not only to have a job, but to be working somewhere that I think is doing great work and has a mission I believe in.”
Ellison previously led Alameda Research, FTX’s affiliated crypto trading firm. In December 2022, she pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in connection with her role in the misuse of FTX customer funds to cover Alameda’s debts and trading losses.
Ellison testified against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and was sentenced to two years in prison. She was released from federal custody in January and had been keeping a low profile.
Chen wrote that he invited Ellison to Manifest 2026, a festival the nonprofit held in June. She started a “work trial” on July 13 before converting to full-time on August 10, he said.
During that period, she had been publishing her work for Manifund under the pseudonym “Carol,” he said.
“I apologize for our minor deception, in using a pseudonym over the last couple months,” he wrote. “I still endorse having done this — I think it’s relatively common to work with people pseudonymously, when their real identity is famous. But I want to call out that we compromised on transparency here, which I do not take lightly.”
Comments left on the post showed a mix of backlash and support.
One commenter wrote: “I love a world where we normalize forgiveness and deep understanding of each other beyond hot takes and headlines. Hope the collaboration works out well!”
Another said that “this shows truly terrible judgment and is likely to harm the reputation not only of Manifund but of all sorts of EA orgs that will take collateral damage.”
Chen responded, in part: “Obviously, I hope to be proven right about this decision, but that may take a while to shake out.”
A person who said they lost money in the FTX debacle expressed fury. “Every dollar she earns for the next 70 years should be garnished and sent to victims like myself and thousands of my friends,” he wrote.
