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Portrait of Alex Mashinsky

Photo: Web Summit · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

business / finance / technology

Alex Mashinsky

Business and billionaires

Documented profile covering 14 controversies, including “June 2026: CFTC order — permanent antifraud injunction and permanent trading and registration ban” and “April–July 2026: FTC settlement — $10 million payable and ban on marketing certain financial asset services”.

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Profile No. 2009 · Updated on 25 September 2026

Portrait of Alex Mashinsky

Photo: Web Summit · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
14Documented controversies
11Sources
1 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

01

18 June 2026

June 2026: CFTC order — permanent antifraud injunction and permanent trading and registration ban

Civil / administrative proceedings

A federal court entered a consent order resolving the CFTC action. Mashinsky was permanently barred from trading on CFTC-regulated markets and from registering with the agency, with a permanent injunction against certain antifraud violations.

State of the evidence
Documented
Legal status — source text
SDNY_CFTC_consent_order_final
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Commodity Futures Trading CommissionCFTC Resolves Action Against Celsius FounderRegulatory authorityVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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02

28 April–20 July 2026

April–July 2026: FTC settlement — $10 million payable and ban on marketing certain financial asset services

Civil / administrative proceedings

On 28 April 2026, the court entered the stipulated order agreed with the FTC: Mashinsky must pay $10 million, subject to applicable credits for criminal forfeiture, and is barred from marketing or selling certain products or services enabling, among other things, the deposit, exchange, investment or withdrawal of assets. The FTC publicly summarised the settlement on 20 July 2026.

State of the evidence
Documented
Legal status — source text
FTC_civil_settlement_order
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Federal Trade Commission / U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New YorkStipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief against Alexander MashinskyCourt decisionVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Federal Trade CommissionFounders of Celsius Network Ordered to Pay $16.5 Million to Resolve FTC ChargesRegulatory authorityVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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Case · 8 documented stages

May 2025: sentenced to twelve years in prison, three years' supervised release, $50,000 fine and $48.39 million forfeiture

Conviction
03

8 May 2025

May 2025: sentenced to twelve years in prison, three years' supervised release, $50,000 fine and $48.39 million forfeiture

Conviction

Federal judge John G. Koeltl sentenced Mashinsky to twelve years in prison for the admitted fraud, with three years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine and forfeiture of $48,393,446.

Legal status — source text
US_federal_12_year_prison_sentence
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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05

3 December 2024

December 2024: guilty plea to commodities fraud and securities fraud; agrees to forfeiture exceeding $48 million

Conviction

Mashinsky pleaded guilty to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud, acknowledging both deception of Celsius customers and manipulation of CEL. He agreed to forfeit more than $48 million in proceeds from the schemes.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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07

11–13 July 2023

July 2023: arrest and seven-count federal indictment, with parallel SEC, CFTC and FTC actions

Formally charged

Federal prosecutors charged Mashinsky with securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, market manipulation and related conspiracies. On the same day, the SEC, CFTC and FTC initiated or announced parallel civil actions.

Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 4

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former Chief Revenue Officer Charged In Connection With Multibillion-Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionSEC Charges Celsius Network Limited and Founder Alex Mashinsky with Fraud and Unregistered Offer and Sale of SecuritiesRegulatory authorityVery high reliability
  3. [3]
    Commodity Futures Trading CommissionCFTC Charges Celsius Network and Former CEO with Fraud and Material MisrepresentationsRegulatory authorityVery high reliability
  4. [4]
    Federal Trade CommissionFTC Reaches Settlement with Crypto Platform Celsius Network; Charges Former Executives with Duping ConsumersRegulatory authorityVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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08

2018–12 June 2022

2018–2022: misleading statements about Celsius's safety, profitability and risks — facts admitted in criminal guilty plea

Conviction

Mashinsky admitted misleading customers about fundamental aspects of Celsius, including its profitability, the safety of its strategies, the sustainability of high yields and the risks associated with deposits. The DOJ stated that Celsius had never been profitable and that customer funds had been committed to increasingly risky bets.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

09

2018–June 2022

2018–2022: Earn programme and asset-pooling activities — securities offerings and regulated activities challenged by SEC and CFTC

Conviction

The SEC accused Celsius and Mashinsky of offering unregistered securities through Earn and defrauding investors; the CFTC alleged that Celsius operated as an unregistered commodity pool and Mashinsky acted as an unregistered associated person.

Legal status — source text
SEC_and_CFTC_civil_enforcement
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionSEC Charges Celsius Network Limited and Founder Alex Mashinsky with Fraud and Unregistered Offer and Sale of SecuritiesRegulatory authorityVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Commodity Futures Trading CommissionCFTC Charges Celsius Network and Former CEO with Fraud and Material MisrepresentationsRegulatory authorityVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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11

2019–June 2022

2019–2022: CEL token price manipulation through large-scale purchases, sometimes funded by customer deposits

Conviction

Mashinsky admitted a scheme to artificially inflate CEL's price. The DOJ established in the plea case that Celsius spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying CEL, sometimes using customer deposits, to artificially support the price and apparent demand.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

12

2019–2022

2019–2022: approximately $48 million from personal CEL sales while publicly claiming not to sell

Conviction

According to the DOJ, Mashinsky personally received approximately $48 million from selling his CEL tokens at artificially supported prices, while repeatedly making public statements that he was not selling CEL.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

13

May–12 June 2022

May–June 2022: public liquidity assurances followed by personal withdrawal of approximately $8 million before customer freeze

Conviction

In the days preceding the suspension of withdrawals, Mashinsky continued to claim that Celsius had a strong financial position and sufficient liquidity. The DOJ stated that, at the same time, he had withdrawn approximately $8 million of his own non-CEL crypto assets.

State of the evidence
Admitted by the person
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

04

10 July 2024–en cours

July 2024: Celsius litigation administrator brings 36 claims against Mashinsky and former executives

Civil / administrative proceedings

The litigation administrator appointed in Celsius's reorganisation filed an adversary proceeding against Mashinsky and others, comprising 36 claims involving fiduciary breaches, contracts, fraud, recovery of transfers and equitable subordination, among other matters.

Legal status — source text
SDNY_bankruptcy_adversary_proceeding_24_3667
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey / JustiaGoines v. Celsius Network, LLC et al. — procedural history including 2024 litigation administrator adversary proceedingCourt decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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06

5 January 2023–en cours/coordonné avec autres procédures

January 2023: New York Attorney General sues him for fraud, concealment of financial condition and failure to register

Civil / administrative proceedings

The New York Attorney General sued Mashinsky, accusing him of making false statements about Celsius's safety, concealing hundreds of millions in losses from risky strategies and failing to register as a securities and commodities seller and dealer. More than 26,000 New York investors were cited.

State of the evidence
Allegations
Legal status — source text
New_York_AG_civil_action
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    New York Attorney GeneralAttorney General James Sues Former CEO of Celsius Cryptocurrency Platform for Defrauding InvestorsOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

10

2019–June 2022

2019–2022: promises of being 'safer than a bank', $750 million insurance, withdrawals at any time and denial of unsecured loans — FTC allegations

Civil / administrative proceedings

The FTC accused Mashinsky and Celsius executives of presenting the platform as safer than a bank, claiming that withdrawals would remain available, referring to $750 million in insurance and denying unsecured lending, while the agency maintained that those assertions were false and deposits were exposed to risky strategies.

State of the evidence
Allegations
Legal status — source text
FTC_civil_enforcement_resolved_2026
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Federal Trade CommissionFTC Reaches Settlement with Crypto Platform Celsius Network; Charges Former Executives with Duping ConsumersRegulatory authorityVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Federal Trade CommissionFounders of Celsius Network Ordered to Pay $16.5 Million to Resolve FTC ChargesRegulatory authorityVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

14

12 June–13 July 2022

12 June–13 July 2022: withdrawals frozen, then Celsius bankrupt with approximately $4.7 billion in inaccessible customer assets

Civil / administrative proceedings

Celsius halted withdrawals on 12 June 2022, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without access to approximately $4.7 billion in crypto assets, then filed for Chapter 11 on 13 July.

State of the evidence
Documented
Legal status — source text
Chapter_11_bankruptcy_company_level
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYCelsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesCourt recordVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    U.S. Department of Justice, SDNYFounder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

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