According to TechFlow, on September 17, The Block reported that Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform, is facing a possible sentence of up to 115 years. Mashinsky's legal team submitted a memorandum to the New York District Court last Friday, requesting that six former Celsius employees be allowed to testify in his criminal trial. These witnesses include senior executives such as the company's former chief financial officer and chief revenue officer.
In July 2023, Mashinsky was arrested for allegedly defrauding customers and misleading them about Celsius' profitability. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Celsius and Mashinsky of raising billions of dollars through fraudulent and unregistered cryptocurrency sales and manipulating the price of the company's native token, CEL.
Mashinsky's lawyers said in the memo that as Celsius CEO, Mashinsky relied on information provided by an experienced team of professionals around him and had no intention of harming anyone. They emphasized: "The government has informed the defense that its 'current position' is that under the sentencing guidelines, Mr. Mashinsky should be sentenced to 115 years in prison."