Ex-CEO of Celsius admits guilt to two counts of fraud

Former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has recently pleaded guilty to two fraud charges. The former founder and CEO of Celsius Network was indicted on seven criminal counts in 2023, which included charges of fraud, conspiracy, and market manipulation. Although he originally entered a not guilty plea, Mashinsky has now admitted guilt to two of the charges – commodities fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of his company’s in-house crypto token CEL. According to Reuters, as part of a plea deal, Mashinsky has agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less.

Mashinsky’s case is just one of many fraud cases being pursued against leaders in the cryptocurrency industry. One of the most high-profile cases involved FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was recently found guilty on seven counts of fraud in 2023.

In 2022, national agencies began cracking down on fraud within the cryptocurrency space as several prominent companies filed for bankruptcy due to plummeting token prices in response to increasing interest rates and high inflation. The Federal Trade Commission reported that victims of crypto schemes had lost over $1 billion since 2021.



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