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The sentencing of Ronnie Cohen-Pavon, former chief revenue officer of Celsius, which was scheduled for December 11, has been postponed. The decision comes in the wake of a plea agreement between former CEO Alex Mashinsky and U.S. prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams asked the Southern District Court for New York to delay Cohen-Pavon’s sentencing until after Mashinsky’s sentencing, scheduled for April 2025. Williams argued that Cohen-Pavon’s testimony and the information shared could significantly shape Mashinsky’s sentence. Judge John Koeltl granted the request, formally delaying the sentencing hearing.
In granting the motion, Judge Koeltl ordered the parties to report to the court on April 18 for an update. That would be ten days after Mashenki’s sentencing. The judge is likely to sentence Cohen-Pavon on that date. Cohen-Pavon had previously pleaded guilty to four felony charges.
Mashinsky's plea agreement changed the proceedings.
While everything seemed to be falling into place for Cohen-Pavon, Mashinsky’s agreement to plead guilty changed the trajectory. On Dec. 3, Mashinsky agreed to plead guilty to two counts as part of a deal with prosecutors. If the judge imposes the maximum sentence on both counts, Mashinsky could serve up to 30 years in prison on both counts consecutively.
Cohen-Pavon and Mashinsky were indicted in July 2023. They were charged with misleading the public to maximize profits through price manipulation. When the two were indicted, Cohen-Pavon was not in the United States, and had pleaded not guilty by then.
However, when he was finally arrested in September 2023, he pleaded guilty to several charges. Among the charges listed were conspiracy to manipulate prices, wire fraud, manipulation of securities prices, and securities fraud. Despite pleading guilty to these charges, Cohen-Pavon was never sentenced, and was scheduled to be sentenced on December 11.
Cohen-Pavon may influence Mashinki's sentence
Most people following the case wonder how the information Cohen-Pavon provided to the court could have affected the judge’s judgment when sentencing Mashinsky. The former CEO pleaded guilty to misleading users about CELUS’s approval by U.S. regulators and not selling his CEL token holdings. As part of the plea deal, he was open to forfeiting $48 million in proceeds from the scheme.
While awaiting sentencing, Cohen-Pavon was free to travel abroad. He was allowed to return to Israel from New York after posting $500,000 bail. Judge Koeltl also allowed him to travel to Singapore in September. This period coincided with the Token 2049 cryptocurrency conference in Singapore, leading to speculation that he would attend.
Celsius went bankrupt in 2022. By then, it was one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges to collapse due to the market downturn. Most users lost the funds locked in their accounts, leaving them in pain. Investors were relieved in November when a bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan for Celsius, allowing debtors to distribute about $2 billion to the platform’s creditors. The company said it would start paying customers by next year.
While the Celsius case is still active, these executives wouldn’t be the first to face prison time in the crypto space. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has gone through the legal process and been jailed. Additionally, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has served time in prison. Both were facing various charges.