Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Files to Have 12-Year Crypto Fraud Sentence Vacated
Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of Celsius, is asking a federal court to vacate his 12-year prison sentence. In a handwritten motion, he argues ineffective counsel and a “fruit of a poisonous tree” theory, claiming his defense was compromised by undisclosed financial distress at the law firm Mukasey & Young LLP. He says that distress created a conflict of interest tied to the firm’s engagement with Sam Bankman-Fried, which he claims affected strategic decisions in his case. Mashinsky pleaded guilty to commodities and securities fraud after Celsius collapsed, froze withdrawals, and later filed for bankruptcy, leaving customers unable to access billions in deposits. He was later arrested, faced charges from multiple regulators, and admitted wrongdoing in court. He is also now barred from the crypto industry under a separate FTC settlement.
