Alex Mashinksy, the former CEO and co-founder of crypto lender Celsius, was arrested on Thursday following an investigation into the company's collapse.
Mashinsky and Celsius Are Charged With Defrauding Clients and Spreading False Information Regarding the Security
Alex Mashinksy, the former CEO and co-founder of crypto lender Celsius, was arrested on Thursday following an investigation into the company's collapse.
Mashinsky and others were charged by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on seven counts, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and price manipulation for Celsius' CEL token.
Celsius (CEL) traded down 4% following the news, and is down over 80% since filing for bankruptcy on July 14, 2022. Crypto consortium Fahrenheit recently won a bid to acquire its assets.
The DOJ charged Mashinsky and Roni Cohen-Pavon, the company's chief revenue officer, with orchestrating "a years-long scheme to mislead customers" over the market worth of the company's stake in CEL.
Separate cases were also brought by the SEC, CFTC, and FTC against Mashinsky and Celsius. The CFTC charged the company and Mashinsky with operating a "scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of customers by misrepresenting the safety and profitability of its digital asset-based finance platform." The SEC charged the company and Mashinsky with securities fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the company broke the FTC Act "in connection with the marketing and sale of cryptocurrency lending and custody services."
Mashinsky and Celsius are charged with defrauding clients and spreading false information regarding the security and success of Celsius' digital asset platform. The company employed increasingly risky investment tactics to fulfill the profits promised to its consumers despite Celsius' claims that it had the reserves to do so.
