Ex-Celsius CEO files motion to vacate sentence after lawyers withdraw
Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius, filed a motion in a New York federal court to vacate his 12-year fraud and market-manipulation sentence. He says he had ineffective counsel and argues some evidence was tainted by government misconduct. Filing pro se, he claimed his lawyers stopped communicating with him. In attached documents, he also blamed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for trying to “destroy Celsius” and for much of the CEL token manipulation, and asked the judge to reject any FTX trust request. Mashinsky previously pleaded guilty to commodities and securities fraud. Celsius collapsed in 2022, and Mashinsky and former revenue chief Roni Cohen-Pavon were indicted in 2023. Mashinsky also faces large forfeiture and settlement payments.
