Alex Mashinsky to be sentenced on May 8
Date: 2025-04-25 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
The trial of co-founder and former CEO of the crypto platform Celsius Alex Mashinsky is nearing completion — the verdict will be announced on May 8. This became known from the latest motion filed by the prosecutor's office in court. The prosecution also secured the inclusion of more than 200 statements from clients who suffered losses due to the collapse of Celsius.
Mashinsky, who was arrested in July 2023, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of commodity fraud and manipulating the rate of the internal CEL token. The remaining five charges remain without admission of guilt. According to preliminary estimates, he could face a prison term of up to 30 years, although the initial total sentence could have been up to 115 years.
The sentencing was initially scheduled for April 8, but the defense requested a postponement. Lawyers representing Mashinsky said they needed more time to collect evidence in his favor. Interestingly, he is being defended by the same lawyers who previously represented Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, who received 25 years in prison for financial fraud.
The story of Celsius has become one of the most resonant in the crypto industry. In June 2022, the platform unexpectedly froze all operations - withdrawals, exchanges, and transfers between accounts. The company's management cited "extreme market conditions." A short time later, Celsius officially filed for bankruptcy. It turned out that the financial hole in the budget reached $1.2 billion. Later it became known that the company's total liabilities exceeded its assets by $2.85 billion.
In the fall of the same year, Mashinsky left the post of CEO. Later, the New York Attorney General's Office charged him with large-scale fraud — according to investigators, he misled investors for billions of dollars.
Thus, the Celsius case becomes an important precedent for regulating the cryptocurrency industry, and Mashinsky's sentence is an expected end to one of the most high-profile scams of recent years.
