Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

GateUser-f090498e · 2025-05-09T13:34:06+00:00

Former Celsius Network co-founder Alex Mashinsky has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud related to manipulation of CEL token prices, leading to his enrichment and the collapse of Celsius in 2022. He will also forfeit $48 million and his real estate. Mashinsky's plea agreement included admitting guilt to fraud charges. Despite the defense seeking a one-year sentence, the prosecution requested 20 years. Mashinsky will serve his sentence without the possibility of appeal starting in September.

GateUser-f090498e

2025-05-09 13:34:06

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Celsius co-founder Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In December of last year, Mashinsky admitted guilt in fraud. He is set to spend the next 12 years in prison. Additionally, the former CEO of Celsius will also lose $48 million and all of his real estate. This was reported by Reuters.

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12 years in prison for former CEO of Celsius

Mashinsky has been accused of manipulating the price of the CEL token to attract investors for his own enrichment. The investigation claims that he earned at least $48 million from fraudulent activities.

The former CEO of Celsius has reached a plea agreement, admitting guilt on two counts: fraud with commodities and orchestrating a scheme to artificially inflate the price of CEL. During the latest court hearing, Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The maximum sentence was 20 years, which was what the prosecution had requested. Creditors were hoping for a life sentence. Mashinsky’s lawyers asked for a one-year prison sentence, citing remorse and a desire to assist the victims.

The bankruptcy of Celsius in 2022 was one of the events that triggered the crypto winter. It caused the total market value of the crypto sector to collapse by billions of dollars.

“Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius, should receive 20 years in prison. I’ve called him a fraud for years — he even blocked me and tried to sue me twice. Celsius is an obvious Ponzi scheme,” wrote financial analyst Jacob King on X (formerly known as “Twitter”) in December.

In early November of last year, a federal judge denied Mashinsky’s request to dismiss the fraud charges related to the manipulation of CEL prices. The court ruled that these charges are consistent with U.S. laws and will be considered separately.

According to the terms of the deal, Mashinsky cannot appeal the final verdict. In September, he will begin serving his sentence in Otisville prison, where the hacker of the decentralized exchange (DEX) Mango Markets is also held.

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