Former Celsius Executives Leon and Goldstein Hit with $6M+ FTC Fine
The financial penalties come in addition to a $10 million settlement that former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky reached with the FTC back in April.
Two co-founders of Celsius, Hanoch "Nuke" Goldstein and Shlomi Daniel Leon, have received orders to pay more than $6 million in settlements with the Federal Trade Commission over accusations that they made false claims about the security and safety of the Celsius platform prior to its eventual collapse.
Under an order executed Monday by US District Judge Denise Cote, Goldstein, who served as the company's former chief technology officer, received an order to pay $2.014 million. Meanwhile, Leon, who held the position of chief strategy officer at the firm, received an order to pay $4.1 million through a separate ruling entered on June 29.
These settlements broaden the consequences stemming from Celsius' 2022 collapse to include more executives beyond former CEO Alex Mashinsky. At the height of its operations, the cryptocurrency lending platform controlled $25 billion in assets, but when bankruptcy proceedings were initiated in July 2022, the company was indebted to its users to the tune of $4.7 billion.
According to the FTC's statement released Monday, the order additionally prohibits Leon from engaging in the marketing or sale of products or services that enable users to deposit, exchange, invest or withdraw assets.
Similarly, Goldstein has agreed to a ban on marketing or selling retail products or services that can be used to buy, sell, deposit, withdraw, distribute or trade cryptocurrency.
FTC allegations against Celsius co-founders
According to the FTC's accusations, Celsius made misleading statements to customers claiming the company maintained adequate reserves to satisfy withdrawal requests, had secured a $750 million insurance policy that covered customer deposits, and refrained from issuing unsecured loans.
"The FTC, however, alleged that the promises were false and that its top executives continued to claim that customers' deposits were safe days before the company filed for bankruptcy," it said.
Mashinsky settles FTC case for $10 million
Earlier in April, Mashinsky reached an agreement with the FTC that includes a permanent prohibition from promoting products related to assets and mandated a $10 million payment as a component of a larger, partially suspended $4.72 billion judgment.
The financial penalties of $2.014 million and $4.1 million from Goldstein and Leon, respectively, will similarly be applied as credits toward the $4.72 billion judgment. These judgments are representative of the consumer damages as alleged by the FTC.
In a separate legal matter, Mashinsky received a 12-year prison sentence in May 2025 following his guilty plea to charges of commodities and securities fraud, with prosecutors asserting that he deliberately misled Celsius customers regarding the company's financial performance, the risks associated with investments, and the security of customer funds.