Among today’s crypto news, there is the case of Celsius, with the judge canceling the sentencing hearing for the former chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon. Having pleaded guilty to criminal offenses, the former Celsius executive has, however, cooperated with justice by providing relevant information for the sentencing hearing of the former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky.
Crypto news and the Celsius case: the judge cancels the sentence for the former executive who cooperated
Among the latest crypto news, the decision of the judge on the Celsius case emerges, which canceled the sentencing hearing for the former Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon.
The former Celsius executive pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price manipulation, securities fraud, securities price manipulation, and wire fraud.
Despite his guilty pleas to four criminal charges, Cohen-Pavon seems to have provided information that “could be relevant” for the sentencing hearing of Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius.
This situation was enough for Judge John Koeltl to approve Prosecutor Damian Williams’s request to cancel the sentencing hearing for Cohen-Pavon until after that of Mashinsky, scheduled for April 2025.
In fact, on April 18, 2025, both Cohen-Pavon and the prosecutor will have to appear before the judge for the sentencing hearing.
Cohen-Pavon was arrested and charged by the US Department of Justice for committing federal crimes, as early as July 2023, along with Mashinsky.
After posting a bail of $500,000, Cohen-Pavon was free to travel between New York and Israel.
Crypto news on the former CEO of Celsius: the remorse of Alex Mashinsky
Just last week, even Alexander Mashinsky pleaded guilty to two charges, in the case of the crypto landing platform Celsius.
In practice, it seems that the former CEO and founder of the company has regretted orchestrating a true fraud against the investors and has accepted the charges.
To determine his sentence, the judge Koelt will also take care of it here, at the hearing scheduled for April 8, 2025. With his remorse, Mashinsky risks up to 30 years in prison.
In reality, the initial indictment for Mashinsky in July 2023, saw him accused of as many as 7 charges.
The charges were related to fraud, conspiracy, market manipulation, and unfair practices with which he allegedly deceived the platform’s investors. On that occasion, Mashinsky pleaded not guilty, managing to postpone the final sentence for months.
Now, however, the situation seems to have changed even though Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to only two of the seven charges brought against him, namely commodity fraud and market manipulation.
Payments to creditors
Among the most recent news on the payment to creditors by Celsius, the failed crypto lending, there was the announcement of the second round last month.
In practice, Celsius should have distributed a total of 127 million dollars to eligible creditors. This distribution should have been made in Bitcoin (BTC) or in USD, based on preferences and types of claims.
Celsius officially went bankrupt in July 2022, after suspending withdrawals on its platform for a month.
On January 31, 2024, however, the platform managed to exit bankruptcy, mainly thanks to the growth of prices in the crypto market. From that moment, Celsius underwent an internal restructuring and ventured into the profitable Bitcoin mining sector.
