Earlier this month, the Effective Altruist (EA) funding platform Manifund made a shocking announcement: It had hired convicted fraudster Caroline Ellison.
Ellison is the former CEO of Alameda Research, a sister company of the disgraced crypto firm FTX, which was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. Reporting suggests that she was fully aware of the fraud that precipitated the companies’ multibillion-dollar implosion while it was happening, and the FBI called her a willing participant in the scheme. Ultimately, Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Nevertheless, Manifund cheerily announced Ellison’s hiring, with CEO Austin Chen saying that he “believe[s]in redemption.”1 And the company didn’t hire her for just any role, but one where she will be involved in researching how philanthropic money should be allocated. Making matters worse, Manifund was launched with funding from FTX’s charitable arm and has refused to return all of the money. Making matters even worse, Chen explicitly noted the “keen debt” he feels toward the FTX Future Fund for said funding, which gives this whole episode the appearance of a quid pro quo. The move set off a firestorm of controversy in EA circles, with the decision being savaged on the EA forum and in Manifund’s own comment section.
In seemingly unrelated news, Hunter Biden recently released a memecoin, which immediately crashed and lost nearly 99% of its value from its launch-day peak. One mystery trader reportedly made off with more than $900,000 in profit, while basically every other dope who put money into the coin lost their money. Why was Hunter able to pull this move? Because of his newfound popularity among some Democrats online who like the way he insults Republicans on social media.
These stories share a common thread. Both controversies are happening because we’ve lost sight of a very important, very basic principle: You shouldn’t associate with scumbags.