Summary
- New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a permanent ban on former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky from participating in the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency sectors.
- The settlement could yield up to $35 million, contingent upon Mashinsky either failing to forfeit an additional $10 million or not completing his prison term.
- Mashinsky is currently serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after admitting to fraud, and he has requested a court to overturn this sentence.
Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, has permanently prohibited Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, from engaging in the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries. This announcement was made by her office on Friday, revealing that the settlement could amount to $35 million.
The financial obligations are conditional: Mashinsky must pay New York $25 million if he fails to forfeit an additional $10 million in ill-gotten gains to the federal government as part of his plea deal. He will also owe $10 million if he does not complete his full prison sentence.
We are preventing Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius, from participating in the financial industry after he misled New Yorkers by claiming his company was a safe investment, ultimately leaving them destitute.
I will not allow fraudsters to exploit unsuspecting New Yorkers. https://t.co/c4WYcFbKEi
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 9, 2026
Currently, Mashinsky is serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud, and he has filed a motion to vacate this sentence.
In 2023, James initiated legal action against Mashinsky, accusing him of defrauding numerous investors, including over 26,000 from New York, by misleading them about the safety of the now-collapsed crypto lending platform.
Investigations by her office revealed that Mashinsky frequently asserted that Celsius was safer than traditional banks, while in reality, customer funds were being utilized in high-risk strategies whose losses he concealed.
One investor from New York even mortgaged two properties to invest in Celsius, while a disabled veteran lost $36,000, which he had saved for nearly a decade, as noted by the Attorney General's office.
"Alex Mashinsky led New Yorkers to believe that his company was a trustworthy venue for their hard-earned savings, only to leave them in financial ruin when his speculative investments failed," stated James.
Other Penalties Faced by Mashinsky
Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in May 2025 after admitting to fraud charges, despite prosecutors seeking a 20-year sentence. He was also mandated to forfeit over $48 million.
He was arrested in July 2023 and released on a $40 million bail prior to his trial.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has permanently barred Mashinsky from trading activities, and he has accepted a $10 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which prohibits him from participating in the cryptocurrency industry.
As of August 2026, Celsius creditors had received over $3.4 billion through the company's bankruptcy proceedings, according to the Attorney General's office. Mashinsky has forfeited all claims to the bankruptcy assets.