Manifund hired Caroline Ellison as a full-time staff member on Aug. 10 after she spent about two months working under the pseudonym “Carol.” Austin Chen, the charity’s co-founder and CEO, disclosed the appointment on Sept. 11, saying Ellison began a trial role on July 13 before transitioning to permanent employment. Chen said she has supported Manifund users, published work and built a reconciliation tool that identified several misregistered transactions in the organization’s database. Ellison was CEO of Alameda Research, the trading firm linked to the collapse of FTX. She pleaded guilty in December 2022 to conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering charges, testified against Sam Bankman-Fried during his 2023 trial and served 14 months in confinement before her release on Jan. 22, 2026. The appointment drew criticism from effective-altruism advocates, including former Astera Institute CEO Cate Hall. Ellison said she was deeply sorry for her actions and understood why some people might not want to work with her. Chen said keeping her identity private during the trial period was a compromise with Manifund’s transparency principles, but he stood by the decision and welcomed questions by email.