Chief Of Failed Crypto Lending Platform Celsius Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges

Alexander Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, potentially facing decades in prison, Larry Neumeister reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Celsius CEO Alexander Mashinksy secretly sold his tokens at inflated prices, pocketing about $48 million before the company collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022. I Photo: Web Summit Flickr

Mashinsky, 58, admitted in New York federal court to commodities and securities fraud, including manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token. He secretly sold his tokens at inflated prices, pocketing about $48 million before the company collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022.

In court, Mashinsky confessed that in 2021 he falsely implied regulatory approval for the company’s operations, knowing it would mislead customers.

Additionally, he admitted to selling crypto tokens in 2019 while publicly claiming he was not, deceiving investors into a false sense of security.

“I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Mashinsky said of the crimes, which spanned from 2018 to 2022. Celsius had marketed itself as a modern-day bank where customers could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest.

US Attorney Damian Williams described Mashinsky as the orchestrator of “one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry,” noting that Celsius’s assets once reached a peak value of $25 billion, making it one of the largest crypto platforms globally.