Key facts
- Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius, is permanently barred from the securities, commodities, and crypto industries.
- Mashinsky must pay up to $35 million to New York, contingent on his prison sentence and forfeiture.
- Mashinsky is serving a 12-year federal prison sentence for fraud.
- James sued Mashinsky in 2023, accusing him of defrauding investors.
- Celsius collapsed in 2022 after Mashinsky allegedly concealed losses from high-risk strategies.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday that former Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky has been permanently barred from the securities, commodities, and crypto industries. The settlement also includes provisions for Mashinsky to pay up to $35 million to the state.
The conditional payments require Mashinsky to pay $25 million if he fails to forfeit an additional $10 million to the federal government as part of his plea agreement, and $10 million if he does not serve his full prison sentence. Mashinsky is currently serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
James sued Mashinsky in 2023, alleging he defrauded hundreds of thousands of investors by misleading them about the safety of the crypto lending platform, which collapsed in 2022. Her office's investigation found that Mashinsky falsely claimed Celsius was safer than a bank while using customer assets in high-risk strategies and concealing losses.
Mashinsky was sentenced in May 2025, with prosecutors having sought 20 years. He was also ordered to forfeit over $48 million. Previously, he had agreed to a $10 million settlement with the FTC that also barred him from the crypto industry. As of August 2026, Celsius creditors had received more than $3.4 billion in bankruptcy proceedings.