Alex Mashinsky, the founder of Celsius Network, received a 12-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud, marking a notable case in the 2022 cryptocurrency crash. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl imposed the sentence, which was part of a broader fallout from Celsius's bankruptcy following a customer rush to withdraw funds as crypto values plummeted. Prosecutors argued for a much longer sentence, highlighting significant financial losses inflicted on customers. Mashinsky expressed regret and sought a reduced sentence, but was ordered to forfeit $48.4 million and serve three years of supervised release.
Mashinsky, 59, misled customers about Celsius' safety and inflated the value of its token, leading to billions in losses and drawing $48 million in personal benefits.
The case underscores that while tokenization and digital assets present opportunities, they do not provide a license to deceive customers.
Collection
[
|
...
]