Exchange Ranking
Top Exchanges
24h Volume Ranking
Popularity Ranking
Exchange BTC Balance
Proof of Reserves
Decentralized Exchanges
Funding Rate
Funding Heatmap
Liquidation Data
Max Pain
Long/Short Ratio
Whale L/S Ratio
Binance/Okex/Huobi L/S
Bitfinex Margin L/S
ETF Tracker
Solana ETF
XRP ETF
Hong Kong ETF
Bitcoin Treasuries
Crypto Reversal
Ethereum Reserves
HyperLiquid Wallet Analysis
Hyperliquid Whale Watch
Large Transactions
On-chain Movement
Bitcoin ROI
Stablecoin Market Cap
Options Analysis
News
Articles
Economic Calendar
Features
Wallet
Contract Calculator
Security
Collections
Watchlist
FollowingNew York Attorney General permanently bans Celsius co-founder Alex Mashinsky from working in the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday that Alex Mashinsky, co-founder and former CEO of Celsius Network, has been permanently banned from working in the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. At the same time, she also recovered up to $35 million from him.
Conditional penalties with fines linked to sentences
According to the state attorney general's announcement, the US$35 million is a conditional fine. The specific terms are as follows:
- If Masinsky fails to pay the $10 million outstanding payment to the federal government in accordance with the plea agreement, he will have to pay $25 million to New York State;
- If he fails to serve his full 12-year sentence, he will have to pay an additional $10 million.
In a parallel federal criminal case, Masinsky has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $48 million.
Fraud charges and investor losses
The ban stems from a lawsuit filed by James in 2023. The lawsuit alleges Masinsky deceived hundreds of thousands of investors, including more than 26,000 New Yorkers, by misleading investors about the security of crypto lending platforms.
James said: "Alex Masinsky assured New Yorkers that his company was a safe place to store his hard-earned savings, but when his risky investments collapsed, they left people with nothing."
According to the state attorney general's office, Celsius allows investors to deposit cryptocurrency in exchange for high-yield promises, and investors have deposited billions of dollars in digital assets on the platform. The company lost hundreds of millions of dollars on risky investments, and Masinsky tried to hide this from investors.
Bankruptcy Liquidation Progress and Other Regulatory Actions
New York State sued Masinsky in January 2023, accusing him of failing to register as a salesperson and securities and commodities dealer for Celsius as required.
In addition, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) permanently banned Masinsky from engaging in commodity trading activities in June this year.
As of August, Celsius creditors have received more than US$3.4 billion in settlements through corporate bankruptcy proceedings. According to the state attorney general's office, the founders and executives of Celsius have paid $16.5 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
