According to a Bloomberg report, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was arrested on criminal charges filed by several U.S. regulators this Thursday. The crypto company filed for bankruptcy in 2022 as other large entities in the space crumbled with the declining prices in the sector.
Per the report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Mashinsky and Celsius. In a document filed in the Southern District of New York, the regulator claims that the defendants raised “billions of dollars” by allegedly offering unregistered securities.
Another Crypto Giant Falls? Celsius Founder Under Arrest
Furthermore, the regulator claims that Mashinsky made “false promises” to his investors by offering them the “Earn Interest Program.” This financial product allowed customers to lock tokens on the platform to earn yield.
The SEC claims the company allegedly manipulated their native token, CEL, for their gain. Thus, Celsius “lied” and took its customers’ funds via the token, which they claim operates as a crypto asset security.
The crypto company and its founder offered this and other products without registering with the SEC. The document stated the following regarding Celsius alleged criminal actions:
Defendants made numerous false and misleading statements to induce investors to purchase CEL and invest in the Earn Interest Program. Among other false representations, Defendants misrepresented Celsius’s central business model and the risks to investors by claiming that Celsius did not make uncollateralized loans, the company did not engage in risky trading, and the interest paid to investors represented 80% of the company’s revenue.
Mashinsky has been sued by former clients, partners, and the state of New York for fraud and other charges. As Bitcoinist reported, the crypto founder allegedly used its clients’ funds to purchase property and supposedly launder funds via decentralized exchanges.
According to reporter db, Mashinsky was sued by all major regulators in the U.S., the SEC, the Department of Justice (DOF), the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and others. The United States accuses Mashinskyof allegedly running an “orchestrated scheme to defraud customers of Celsius Network.”
SEC, DOJ, CFTC, and FTC all sued/charged Celsius and Mashinsky in the past hour
Rough day 💀
— db (@tier10k) July 13, 2023
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $30,600 and has been trending to the upside on the daily chart.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview