Celsius was one of crypto's biggest lenders until it froze withdrawals in 2022 and collapsed into bankruptcy. CEO Alex Mashinsky had told hundreds of thousands of investors the platform was safer than a bank — while quietly running their deposits into risky bets and hiding the losses.
New York AG Letitia James has now settled the civil case: up to $35M from Mashinsky and a lifetime ban from crypto, securities and commodities. His third permanent ban, technically — a 12-year federal fraud sentence and a CFTC ban came first.
Celsius creditors have recovered more than
$3.4B through bankruptcy as of August.CoinDesk