U.S. prosecutors seek a 20-year prison sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky, accusing him of deliberate fraud that caused billions in customer losses.
Prosecutors stated in a Monday memo that Mashinsky refuses to accept responsibility despite overwhelming evidence and his guilty plea to the offenses.
“He has abandoned all pretense of acknowledging his sustained wrongdoing, and he does not even feint at contrition. Instead, he claims he was motivated by a selfless devotion to service, his only mistakes excessive enthusiasm for Celsius and trusting the wrong executives.”
The U.S. Department of Justice
In December, Mashinsky pleaded guilty to misleading customers about deposit safety and secretly manipulating Celsius’s CEL token.
Celsius froze withdrawals in June 2022, then filed for bankruptcy a month later, with only $167 million remaining to repay customers and withdrawals halted to seek additional funds.
Reports indicate Mashinsky and his wife withdrew approximately $12 million in crypto from Celsius before bankruptcy. Founded in 2018, Celsius grew to 200 employees and managed around $10 billion in crypto assets by 2021.
Over 200 victim statements were submitted before sentencing, with many requesting a life sentence for Mashinsky. One investor, Brandon Lawrence, said his dreams and the spirit of cryptocurrency had been tarnished.
Stephen Levenberg, a retired teacher, offered to return stolen funds in exchange for a three-year sentence. Mashinsky’s sentencing is set for May 8 before Judge John G. Koeltl.
