US Prosecutors Reject Former Celsius Chief's Appeal to Overturn Conviction as Baseless
Alex Mashinsky, currently serving 12 years behind bars, persists in pursuing legal strategies to overturn his criminal conviction stemming from his role at Celsius.
Alex Mashinsky, who previously led the now-collapsed cryptocurrency lending company Celsius as its CEO, is facing significant resistance from United States prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) regarding his attempt to persuade a federal court to overturn his 12-year prison sentence for charges including fraud and market manipulation.
Through a filing submitted on Friday, SDNY Attorney James McDonald alongside Assistant US Attorney Allison Nichols argued that the court should reject Mashinsky's petition seeking to vacate both his conviction and sentence, stating that numerous legal arguments presented by him were "without merit" while also countering allegations concerning ineffective assistance from his legal counsel.
The one-time Celsius CEO notified the court during May that he intended to proceed pro se — meaning he would be representing himself without an attorney in the proceedings — and subsequently filed a motion to vacate, which contained allegations regarding cryptocurrency exchange FTX as well as his former associate, Roni Cohen-Pavon, who served as the company's chief revenue officer.
"Mashinsky has not even submitted a sworn declaration in support of these baseless allegations, and his petition should be denied without a hearing or further fact-finding," prosecutors stated, further adding:
"[...] He presents a litany of complaints, blaming others for problems at Celsius and rehashing the evidence presented at his sentencing hearing. Though Mashinsky stops short of claiming that he is factually innocent, he blames his lawyers for failing to press certain arguments on his behalf."
By Tuesday, the presiding judge in the case had yet to issue a response to the filing submitted by federal prosecutors. Mashinsky received his sentencing in May 2025 to a term of 144 months behind bars, after entering guilty pleas to commodities fraud and securities fraud charges connected to "manipulative and deceptive devices" employed at Celsius. Cohen-Pavon, who the government stated provided "substantial assistance" to prosecutors in building their case against Mashinsky, received a sentence of time served during May.
Celsius became one of numerous cryptocurrency firms that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 during a widespread market downturn that began with the implosion of Terraform Labs. Federal authorities brought indictments against both Mashinsky and Cohen-Pavon in 2023, with both individuals entering guilty pleas thereafter. At the time of sentencing, the former CEO faced an order to pay $48 million in forfeiture and additionally agreed to a payment of $10 million as part of a separate settlement reached with the US Federal Trade Commission.
Mashinsky banned from commodities markets trading
In June, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) made public its decision that the former Celsius CEO would face a permanent prohibition from engaging in trading activities within markets that fall under the commodities regulator's jurisdiction.
The CFTC enforcement action represented one of the final legal matters involving Mashinsky and Celsius to reach resolution in the aftermath of the company's 2022 downfall. Nevertheless, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil lawsuit against the co-founder, originally filed in 2023, remained active despite the court having reached a judgment against the platform several months following the initial complaint.
According to information dated July 30, the SEC disclosed that its legal team and Mashinsky were "engaged in settlement discussions." The regulatory agency requested the court grant a period of 60 days to submit a status report concerning the matter, thereby postponing any potential resolution until the conclusion of September.