{"id":127848,"date":"2025-04-24T06:17:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T06:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=127848"},"modified":"2025-04-24T06:17:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T06:17:47","slug":"us-prosecutors-file-over-200-victim-statements-in-celsius-ex-ceos-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=127848","title":{"rendered":"US prosecutors file over 200 victim statements in Celsius ex-CEO\u2019s case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsUS federal prosecutors have filed statements from hundreds of victims in their case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto lender Celsius Network.
\nThe recently sworn-in interim US Attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, said in an April 23 letter to a Manhattan federal court that he was sharing \u201cmore than 200 victim impact statements\u201d collected by his office.
\nThe statements span 418 pages of Celsius users, some named and some only using their initials, detailing the impact that the collapse of the firm had on their lives and how much money they had lost as a result.
\nSome of the statements detailed victims who said they entrusted their life savings to Celsius, believing Mashinsky\u2019s assurances that the platform was safe.
\nOthers wrote they were dismayed at the amount returned to them as a result of the company\u2019s bankruptcy proceedings, which many said was less than the amount they put into the platform.
\nAn excerpt of a statement by Jesse Gaarenstroom detailing their losses and dissatisfaction with the repayments made to Celsius creditors. Source: CourtListenerBefore it collapsed, Celsius Network allowed users to deposit crypto to earn yield and offered loans with crypto posted as collateral. It blocked withdrawals in mid-2022 amid a massive crypto market crash and filed for bankruptcy in July that year.
\nThe Justice Department hit Mashinsky with seven charges a year later in July 2023, but he took a plea deal and copped to a count each of commodities and securities fraud in December, which carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if served consecutively.
\nSome seek leniency for Mashinsky
\nA large number of the statements reviewed by Cointelegraph called for Mashinsky to be imprisoned under the maximum allowable sentence, but at least two called for the court to go easy on the admitted fraudster.
\nRelated: US prosecutors to pursue ex-SafeMoon CEO case despite DOJ memo
\nOne statement, written by a person identifying themselves as \u201cMike,\u201d said further punishing Mashinsky would be \u201cunreasonably excessive\u201d as he claimed, without evidence, that the Celsius founder \u201cwas the target of a coordinated attack\u201d by Sam Bankman-Fried, a convicted fraudster and former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
\nAnother statement written by Artur Abreu said that Mashinsky should be given leniency as he\u2019s shown remorse, and macroeconomic factors at the time majorly contributed to Celsius\u2019 collapse.
\nMashinsky, whose sentencing is set for May 8, argued in an April 17 sentencing brief that he should not be sentenced to more than a year and one day in prison, or 366 days, as he had \u201cgenuinely good intentions, and a previously spotless track record.\u201d
\nThe government’s sentencing brief is due on April 24.
\nMagazine: Inner City Press says \u2018less flashy\u2019 Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: X Hall of Flame\u00a0Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsUS federal prosecutors have filed statements from hundreds of victims in their case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto lender Celsius Network.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127848"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}