Bloomberg reported that Caroline Ellison (ex-CEO of Alameda Research) would be represented in a federal investigation by a former senior cryptocurrency regulator who was employed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ellison will be represented by Stephanie Avakian, and WilmerHale’s team of lawyers.
Avakain currently serves as the department chair of the Securities and Financial Services division at the law firm.
She was a director in Enforcement Division, Securities and Exchange Commission. There she was responsible to expand cryptocurrency supervision and launch lawsuits against Ripple Lab and Robinhood.
According to the website of the law firm, “Ms. Avakian” was responsible for supervising approximately 1,400 professionals and staff who worked in the Division.
She was the Chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for four years. The Division brought over 3,000 cases of enforcement action to the Division, received judgments and orders totalling more than $17 Billion in fines and disgorgement and returned nearly $3.6 Billion to investors who had been hurt.
She was also responsible for directing the Enforcement Division through the process to address unique concerns that are on the forefront of today’s markets, including initial coin offerings, digital asset, and cybersecurity.
Cointelegraph reported that there are a few investigations currently underway, and at most seven class action lawsuits against FTX Group executives.
An investigation is underway into the defunct crypto exchange and its subsidiaries by the United States Attorney’s Office for Manhattan in New York and Department of Financial Protection and Innovation of California.
The federal government has also begun investigating whether Sam Bankman Fried, the ex-CEO at FTX, was responsible in part for the fall of Terra.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Bankman Empire Fried’s caused a flood in “sell” orders for Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD Classic, as part of a wider investigation into FTX’s collapse. This investigation is part a larger investigation into FTX’s collapse (USTC).
Alameda Research placed the bulk of USTC securities sell orders, according to an article published in The New York Times.
