PANews reported on December 4, citing multiple sources from The Block, that former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty in a New York court, admitting to two charges, including commodity fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of Celsius's native token. These charges could lead to a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Mashinsky was arrested in 2023, with prosecutors accusing him of deceiving customers and misleading the public about Celsius's true profitability. Celsius operated as a crypto lending platform, allowing customers to earn interest and provide loan services, but filed for bankruptcy in 2022 due to a financial crisis.
Additionally, Mashinsky and Celsius are facing charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that they raised billions of dollars through the sale of unregistered crypto assets and made numerous false statements to investors, including manipulating the price of their token CEL. Currently, Celsius has been liquidated, and some funds are being used to create a new company, Ionic Digital, engaged in Bitcoin mining.