Celsius Founder Mashinsky Gets 12 Years for Crypto Fraud
Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius Network, left, arrives at court in New York on May 8.
Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/BloombergTakeaways NEW
Alex Mashinsky, the founder of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, was ordered to spend 12 years in prison for defrauding hundreds of thousands of customers lured by his firm’s high interest rates on digital-asset deposits.
Mashinsky, who pleaded guilty in December, was sentenced Thursday by US District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan. Federal prosecutors had sought a 20-year prison term for the 59-year-old former chief executive officer, calling him “unrepentant.”