The former CEO of Celsius Network, Alexander Mashinsky, faces a recommended sentence of at least 20 years in prison for having conducted what prosecutors describe as a fraud of several years which caused billions of dollars in losses and has devastated thousands of daily investors.
Mashinsky, who founded Celsius in 2018, made the platform in a major name in the world of cryptocurrency. He promoted Celsius as a safe alternative to traditional banks, where users could gain interest by storing their digital assets.
According to court documents, Mashinsky misleads customers about how their money was managed, used risked investment strategies behind their back and lied about Celsius’s financial health. He also used customer funds to manipulate the price of the company’s own CEL token, secretly selling his personal hiding place for tens of millions of dollars.
When Celsius collapsed bankrupt in 2022, thousands of investors lost their savings. Many were ordinary people who thought their assets were safe.
Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to two criminal counts: lying on the security of the Celsius investment platform and manipulating the price of CEL for personal purposes. He admitted to having personally benefited from more than $ 48 million in regimes, while total losses exceeded $ 550 million.
Despite the plea, prosecutors say that Mashinsky always refuses to fully accept responsibility. They accuse him of having tried to blame themselves for others, including market conditions and even his victims, and of protecting assets through the family -controlled trust.
Government lawyers argue that a long punishment is necessary – not only to punish Mashinsky but also to send a clear message to others in the crypto industry, the final sentence will be decided by a federal judge in New York.
This token increases despite legal problems
Surprisingly, after the news of the recommendation for determining the sentence broke out, the price of CEL climbed more than 70%, currently negotiating at $ 0.15. In the past 24 hours, it saw a minimum of $ 0.08,667 and a summit of $ 0.1782. However, the token is far from its glory days. The summit of all time of CEL was $ 8.02 on June 4, 2021, which means that it is down more than 98% of this level.
