Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky to Plead Guilty in Fraud Case
Celsius Network co-founder Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to his involvement in the collapse of a cryptocurrency lending company.
The decision marks significant progress in ongoing legal proceedings related to the wider impact of 2022 crypto winter.
Celsius CEO admits manipulating China Everbright market value
The former Celsius CEO is accused of manipulating the price of the network’s CEL token to attract investors, while personally profiting from it $42 million.
According to Bloomberg ReportMasinski confirmed at a Manhattan court hearing on Tuesday that he intends to plead guilty to two counts: commodities fraud and a scheme to artificially inflate the value of CELs. The most serious charges could result in up to 20 years in prison.
this Celsius bankruptcy It was one of the earliest warnings of crypto winter, a downturn that wiped out billions of dollars in market capitalization. Celsius’ collapse follows a series of high-profile failures, including The implosion of FTX below Sam Bankman-Freed.
“Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was just sentenced to 30 years in prison. I’ve been accusing him of being a liar for years and he even blocked me twice and tried to sue me,” said financial analyst Jacob King : “Celsius is a blatant Ponzi scheme” Wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, Mashinski’s former legal counsel Ronnie Cohen-Pavin has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with authorities. By changing his plea, Masinski avoided a trial originally scheduled for January. This decision may result in a lighter sentence compared to a jury conviction.
In early November, a federal judge Celsius CEO rejected request to drop fraud charges Related to CEL token market manipulation. The court strengthened the case against him by ruling that charges under the Commodity Exchange Act and the Securities Exchange Act can stand alone.
prosecutors charge Marcinski misled Celsius customers and orchestrated manipulative transactions over many years to drive up the price of CEL. Investigators said the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on CEL purchases, often using customer deposits but not disclosing them.
Cohen-Pavin reportedly managed the transactions under the direction of Marcinski.
“Prosecutors allege that Marcinski sweet-talked customers as Celsius burned, inflating the value of CEL tokens and pocketing $42 million before the collapse. By July 2022, Celsius was bankrupt, filing for bankruptcy and froze $4.7 billion in client assets,” Mario Nawfal Wrote on X.
Continued efforts to repay creditors
Last week, Celsius announced Creditors will receive $127 million Pay in Bitcoin or USD. Additionally, Celsius submitted a Lawsuit against Tetherseeking to recover more than $2 billion in Bitcoin collateral, alleging the funds were misused.
Earlier this year, Celsius Litigation with KeyFi settled CEO Jason Stone accused the company of operating a Ponzi scheme and misrepresenting its risk management practices. The case is based on KeyFi’s role in managing Celsius Investments from 2020 to 2021 under a memorandum of understanding.
Overall, Alex Mashinsky’s guilty plea represents a critical moment in a broader effort to hold executives accountable for failures that destabilized crypto markets.
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