Former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges. The founder and CEO of Celsius Network was initially indicted on seven criminal counts in 2023, which included charges of fraud, conspiracy, and market manipulation. While Mashinsky entered a not guilty plea at the time, he has now admitted guilt to two of those original counts during a recent hearing.
The first charge is commodities fraud, and the second is a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of his company’s in-house crypto token, CEL. According to some news, as part of a plea deal, Alex Mashinsky has agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less.
Mashinsky’s case is part of a broader crackdown on fraudulent activities within the cryptocurrency industry. Among the most high-profile cases is that of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty on seven counts of fraud in 2023.
The push to address fraud in cryptocurrency schemes gained momentum in 2022, a year marked by several notable companies filing for bankruptcy as token prices plummeted due to rising interest rates and high inflation. During that year, the Federal Trade Commission reported that victims of crypto schemes had lost more than $1 billion since 2021.
National agencies have since intensified their efforts to pursue fraud charges against leaders of cryptocurrency operations, aiming to bring accountability and transparency to the rapidly evolving digital finance sector.
