Founder of failed crypto lending platform Celsius Network pleads guilty to fraud charges

Source: Associated Press

Founder of failed crypto lending platform Celsius Network pleads guilty to fraud charges

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Updated 6:22 PM EST, December 3, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network could face decades in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to federal fraud charges, admitting that he misled customers about the business.

Alexander Mashinsky, 58, of Manhattan, entered the plea in New York federal court to commodities and securities fraud.

He admitted illegally manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token while secretly selling his own tokens at inflated prices to pocket about $48 million before Celsius collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022.

In court, he admitted that in 2021 he publicly suggested there was regulatory consent for the company’s moves because he knew that customers “would find false comfort” with that.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-celsius-mashinsky-arrest-ee19ae4ca4104f4070e739fcb4fbc178