Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Pleads Guilty to Billion-Dollar Crypto Fraud
Alex Mashinsky, the founder of the ill-fated crypto lending platform Celsius, has pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, admitting his role in misleading investors.
Notably, Mashinsky was charged with artificially inflating the price of the CEL token, a scheme that allegedly helped him secure $42 million in personal gains. He admitted to misleading customers, particularly in December 2021, when he made false claims about the platform’s financial status.
Mashinsky falsely suggested that Celsius had approval from regulators, a statement he later acknowledged was not true. This misrepresentation was tied to Celsius’ earn program, where customers exchanged Bitcoin for CEL tokens under the false belief that the platform was…
