Odaily News Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison for crypto fraud, with sentences of 120 months and 144 months for two counts (to be served together). Alex Mashinsky agreed to forfeit $48 million and several properties.
Before Celsius collapsed in 2022, Alex Mashinsky repeatedly lied to investors about the security of customer deposits. Prosecutors pointed out that he falsely claimed that the platform had regulatory approval, insisted that it never issued unsecured loans (in fact, the opposite), and manipulated the price of CEL tokens for personal gain - CEL-related illegal profits alone exceeded $48 million. Alex Mashinsky's dereliction of duty and self-interest directly led to the bankruptcy of Celsius, leaving a huge hole of $1.2 billion (about $7 billion at current prices) on the company's books. (Coindesk)