Ex-Celsius CEO Mashinsky Pleads Guilty in Crypto Fraud Case
- Celsius collapsed months before FTX amid crypto turmoil
- Mashinsky tells judge that ‘I knew what I did was wrong’
Alex Mashinsky
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Alex Mashinsky, the charismatic co-founder of crypto lender Celsius Network, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in one of the last cases stemming from the widespread upheaval that shook digital currencies two years ago.
Mashinsky, 59, was charged last year with artificially inflating the price of his platform’s CEL token in a bid to attract customers, generating $42 million in personal profits. He changed his plea to guilty at a hearing in Manhattan Tuesday.