Alex Mashinsky Challenges Proposed 20-Year Sentence in Celsius Case

According to ShibDaily, Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct crypto lender Celsius, is contesting a proposed 20-year prison sentence recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ has suggested this sentence due to Mashinsky's alleged role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the manipulation of the platform's native token. If the court accepts the DOJ's recommendation, Mashinsky would be nearly 80 years old upon release. In response, Mashinsky's legal team has filed a memorandum with a New York district court, arguing for a sentence of no more than 366 days. They assert that the DOJ has not adequately considered Mashinsky's status as a nonviolent, first-time offender with a clean record over his three-decade business career. The memorandum criticizes the government's portrayal of Mashinsky as a predator, describing the proposed sentence as equivalent to a 'death-in-prison sentence.' Mashinsky's defense argues that the DOJ's pursuit of a lengthy sentence is driven by his refusal to accept the government's depiction of him as a fraudster from the beginning. They claim that Mashinsky is being unfairly blamed for every corporate decision and market fluctuation related to Celsius. The DOJ, however, maintains that Mashinsky's guilty plea confirms his intentional and calculated fraudulent activities, which involved deliberate deception and theft. Prior to the DOJ's sentencing recommendation on April 28, U.S. federal prosecutors submitted victim impact statements from hundreds of individuals who suffered financial losses due to the Celsius collapse. Many victims reported investing their life savings in the platform, trusting Mashinsky's assurances of fund security. Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to charges of commodities fraud and market manipulation as part of a plea deal, admitting to earning $48 million by selling CEL tokens before Celsius's collapse in June 2022. Initially, he faced seven charges filed in July 2023. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, after halting withdrawals and citing extreme market volatility, ultimately owing $4.7 billion to creditors. A U.S. bankruptcy court approved the company's restructuring plan in November 2023, and by August 2024, $2.53 billion had been distributed to 251,000 affected customers.