The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, admitting that he misled customers about the business
NEW YORK — The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network could face decades in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to federal fraud charges, admitting that he misled customers about the business.
Alexander Mashinsky, 58, of Manhattan, entered the plea in New York federal court to commodities and securities fraud.
He admitted illegally manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token while secretly selling his own tokens at inflated prices to pocket about $48 million before Celsius collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022.
In court, he admitted that in 2021 he publicly suggested there was regulatory consent for the company's moves because he knew that customers “would find false comfort” with that.
And he said that in 2019, he was selling the crypto tokens even though he told the public that he was not. He said he knew customers would draw false comfort from that too.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Mashinsky said of crimes that stretched from 2018 to 2022 as the company pitched itself to customers as a modern-day bank where they could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release that Mashinsky “orchestrated one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry” as his company's assets purportedly grew to about $25 billion at its peak, making it one of the largest crypto platforms in the world.
He said Mashinsky used catchy slogans like “Unbank Yourself” to entice prospective customers with a pledge that their money would be as
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