Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud and market manipulation, causing billions of dollars in damages to customers.
Alex Mashinsky, the former executive of the crypto lending platform Celsius Network, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for defrauding customers and manipulating the CEL Token price. The verdict was delivered today, marking one of the heaviest sentences for an executive in the cryptocurrency sector.
Mashinsky, 59, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of commodity fraud and one count of securities fraud. According to the indictment, the former CEO concealed Celsius's actual financial situation and secretly sold large amounts of CEL Token for personal gain while publicly declaring he was not selling his tokens.
Under the plea agreement, Mashinsky agreed to forfeit $48 million – the proceeds from his fraudulent activities. This amount is only a small fraction of the nearly $7 billion in damages that prosecutors allege his actions caused.
The prosecution requested a 20-year prison sentence, arguing that Mashinsky's actions destroyed the lives of thousands of customers. Meanwhile, his defense attorney proposed a sentence of just over a year, claiming the government's proposal was a "death sentence in prison" for a first-time, non-violent offender.
Ultimately, the judge decided on a 12-year sentence, lower than the prosecutor's recommendation but still reflecting the severity of the crime.
Celsius's collapse in mid-2022 shocked the cryptocurrency industry when the platform suddenly froze user accounts before filing for bankruptcy. At the time, the company managed billions of dollars in assets for over 1.7 million users, promising up to 18% interest on crypto deposits.
This verdict is seen as a powerful message from regulators and a warning to digital finance operators about the consequences of fraud and market manipulation.
